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Porosity and Participation: The Architecture of the Canadian Institute of Design
By
Bini Saha, B.Arch.
A thesis submitted to
The Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Architecture (Professional)
School of Architecture
Carleton University
Ottawa, Ontario
2004-2005
Copyright
2005, Bini Saha
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Professor Stephen Fai for his kind
support, probing questions, and exceptional guidance. I
am also grateful to my family and friends for their
continued motivation, patience and encouragement.
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Abstract
The thesis considers the architectural implications of a new understanding of social space
as porous space. This paradigm sees social space not as a homogenous, abstract and
passive entity, but as heterogeneous, porous and active through democratic participation.
This examination draws parallels between porosity and Canadas participatory
democracy. A critical appraisal of the Bauhaus ideology, as a historical precedent and a
survey of other institutes of design, as case studies elucidates the functioning, possibility
and need for such an institute. This in conjunction with a discussion of Henri Lefebvres
notions of social space and George Parkin Grants views on Canadian democracy forms a
framework for the Canadian Institute of Design. The porous architecture of the Canadian
Institute of Design demonstrates the possibility of creating a social and democratic
environment. The Canadian Institute of Design sets the national agenda for the role of
design in its social, political, cultural and creative contexts. It affirms the strategic
importance of building and promoting national awareness and consciousness about
design.
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i
Table of Contents
1 INTRODUCTION......................................................................................... 1
2 WHAT IS AN INSTITUTE OF DESIGN.................................................9
2.1 The Bauhaus..........................................................................................................10
2.2 The Institute of Design (ID), Illinois................................................................... 38
2.3 Design Institute of Australia (DIA), Melbourne................................................. 42
2.4 The Institute of Design Research and Outreach (IDRO), Iowa...........................45
2.5 The Netherlands Design Institute, Amsterdam.................................................... 47
2.6 Case Study Conclusions....................................................................................... 52
3 POROSITY................................................................................................... 54
3.1 Social Space as Porous Space.............................................................................. 56
3.2 Porous space and Canadian democracy............................................................... 60
3.3 Public Participation.............................................................................................. 62
3.4 An Environment Conducive to Creativity........................................................... 64
3.5 Raising Standards for Quality.............................................................................. 66
4 DESIGN IN CANADA................................................................................ 70
4.1 A Brief History..................................................................................................... 70
4.2 Public Participation in Canada............................................................................. 75
5 SITE AND CONTEXT................................................................................ 77
5.1 Connections and Links.........................................................................................77
5.2 LeBreton Flats...................................................................................................... 81
6 CANADIAN INSTITUTE OF DESIGN................................................. 92
6.1 Project................................................................................................................... 92
6.2 Program................................................................................................................ 94
6.3 Architectural Elements....................................................................................... 102
6.4 Design Factors.................................................................................................... 106
7 CONCLUSIONS........................................................................................ 126
Bibliography....................................................................................................130
i i
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Table of Illustrations
All images copyright of the author unless otherwise noted.
Figure 2.1 Ittens Preliminary Course................................................................................... 15
Source: http://www.bauhaus.de/english/bauhaus 1919/unterricht/
Johannes Itten, Design and Form; the Basic Course at the Bauhaus, Trans.
John Maass (New York: Reinhold Public Corporation, 1964) 62,63.
Figure 2.2 Ittens Preliminary Course: Human Body........................................................... 17
Source: Hans M. Wingler, The Bauhaus: Weimar, Dessau, Berlin, Chicago,
trans. Wolfgang Jabs and Basil Gilbert (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1969)
281.
Figure 2.3 Girls School and Bauhaus Stairway................................................................... 17
Source: http://www.schloss-schwerin.de/schwerin/shop/shophome.htm
http://www.moma.org/collection/provenance/items/597.42.html
Figure 2.4 Several Circles (Einige Kreise)............................................................................19
Source: http://www.guggenheimlasvegas.org/artist_work_md_7120.html
Figure 2.5 In the Gray............................................................................................................. 19
Source: http://www.inter-art.com/en/kandinsky4.htm
Figure 2.6 Sommerfield House.............................................................................................. 22
Source: Michael Siebenbrodt, ed., Bauhaus Weimar: Designs for the Future,
(Ostfildem-Ruit: Hatje Cantz, 2000) 24.
Figure 2.7 Banister Detail.......................................................................................................22
Source: Frank Whitford, The Bauhaus Masters and students by themselves
(London: Conran Octopus, 1992) 107.
Figure 2.8 Model House.........................................................................................................24
Source: Siebenbrodt, 39.
Figure 2.9 Bauhaus Directors office location...................................................................... 24
Source: http://architecture.mit.edu/~sloan2/final.html
Figure 2.10 Bauhaus Directors office..................................................................................26
Source: Siebenbrodt, 42.
Figure 2.11 Homage to the square series.............................................................................. 26
Source: http://spaightwoodgalleries.com/Pages/Albers.html
Figure 2.12 Moholy Nagys Preliminary Course.................................................................26
Source: http://www.bauhaus.de/english/bauhausl919/unterricht_moholy.htm
Figure 2.13 Bauhaus Kandem lights......................................................................................29
Source: http://www.bauhaus.de/english/museum/sonderausstellungen.htm
Figure 2.14 Bauhaus Furniture Prototypes........................................................................... 29
Source: http://www.bauhaus.de/english/museum/sonderausstellungen.htm
Figure 2.15 Bauhaus Plan, Dessau......................................................................................... 36
Source: www.bauhaus-dessau.de/ en/history.asp?p=bauhaus
Figure 2.16 Bauhaus building................................................................................................ 36
m
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Source: http://www.bildarchiv-monheim.de/florian-monheim/moderne-
architekttir/modeme-architektur/bauhaus/17200.htm
Figure 3.1 Collages exploring Porosity................................................................................ 68
Figure 3.2 Models exploring Porosity.................................................................................. 69
Figure 5.1 Site Location.........................................................................................................78
Source: http://warmuseum.ca/cwm/new/ca_sitee.html
Figure 5.2 Site Map................................................................................................................78
Source: http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/corporate/parks_heritage/
development_projects/lebreton/jpdf/PKG54_e.pdf
Figure 5.3 Capital Core area.................................................................................................. 79
Source: http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/corporate/plan_reg/_pdf/
core_draft_plan_e.pdf
Figure 5.4 LeBreton Flats...................................................................................................... 79
Source: http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/corporate/parks_heritage/
development_projects/lebreton/site_map_updates/index_e.asp
Figure 5.5 Bicycle and Pedestrian Pathway System.............................................................83
Source: http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/corporate/parks_heritage/
development_projects/lebreton/_pdf/building_05.pdf
Figure 5.6 Roads, Parking and Public Transport.................................................................. 83
Source: http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/corporate/parks_heritage/
development_projects/lebreton/_pdf/site_map_l 6.pdf
Figure 5.7 LeBreton Flats View Control Planes...................................................................90
Source: http://ottawa.ca/city_services/planningzoning/2020/op/vol_l/
annex_schedules_en. shtml
Figure 5.8 War Museum Sight Line......................................................................................90
Source: http://warmuseum.ca/cwm/new/brochure_cwm_en.pdf
Figure 5.9 Site and War Museum Photos............................................................................. 91
Source: http://warmuseum.ca/cwm/new/ca_conste.html
Figure 6.1 Massing Models................................................................................................... 93
Figure 6.2 Models................................................................................................................... 95
Figure 6.3 Exploring Porosity in Design.............................................................................. 96
Figure 6.4 Exploring Porosity through drawings.................................................................97
Figure 6.5 Exploring Porosity through drawings: Colour................................................... 98
Figure 6.6 Sight Lines..........................................................................................................100
Figure 6.7 Sight Lines in Plan............................................................................................. 100
Figure 6.8 Site Model: Massing.......................................................................................... 101
Figure 6.9 Site Model: Sightlines........................................................................................ 101
Figure 6.10 Ground Floor Plan............................................................................................ 107
Figure 6.11 First and Second Floor: Program.................................................................... 108
Figure 6.12 Long Section through Design Convention Hall and Conference Hall 109
Figure 6.13 Long Section through Central Pathway..........................................................109
Figure 6.14 Transverse Sections.......................................................................................... 110
Figure 6.15 Elevations.......................................................................................................... 111
Figure 6.16 Model: Ground floor level...............................................................................112
Figure 6.17 North wing and South wing............................................................................ 112
Figure 6.18 Forecourt........................................................................................................... 114
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Figure 6.19 East Entry...........................................................................................................114
Figure 6.20 Inner Pores.........................................................................................................115
Figure 6.21 Terraces..............................................................................................................116
Figure 6.22 Administrative Zone: View from ramp........................................................... 117
Figure 6.23 Administrative Zone: Waiting and office areas..............................................117
Figure 6.24 Workshop Area: View from administrative zone.......................................... 118
Figure 6.25 Workshop Area: Workshop offices on the left.............................................. 118
Figure 6.26 Workshop Area: Workshop offices................................................................ 119
Figure 6.27 Workshop Area: Inner Court...........................................................................119
Figure 6.28 East Entry and Inner Court............................................................................... 123
Figure 6.29 North Wing: Inner Court.................................................................................. 123
Figure 6.30 Exhibit Space: View towards studios.............................................................. 124
Figure 6.31 Digital Labs........................................................................................................124
Figure 6.32 Studio Space...................................................................................................... 125
Figure 6.33 Exhibit Space: View through pores................................................................. 125
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v
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
Design is developing from a craft and trade activity to a profession and hopefully,
towards an established academic discipline. A number of observers have suggested that
the last decade has witnessed the emergence of a field of study - even a discipline - of
design.1 This then, is a significant moment at which to focus on this. Countries all over
the world have come to recognize the emergence of design as the key to cultural, social
and economic prosperity in the 21st century. Canada has also reached a Tipping Point
for design.2 A research study carried out by the DIAC3 reveals the following facts. It
shows that Canada has a critical mass of designers working in several design disciplines.
Ontario has the third largest design workforce in North America.4
These designers have a higher level of formal education than the general
workforce and they work in almost every sector of the economy including manufacturing,
retail, financial services, and the cultural industries. Canada has a strong presence in
design education with 66 design programs offered at Ontario universities and colleges
and some additional programs in private institutions. Undergraduate programs in Canada
provide a strong foundation in design theory, design process, design methods, and new
technology.
1Richard Buchanan, Education and Professional Practice in Design, Design Issues 14 (1998) 2.
2Arlene Gould and Paola Poletto, Design Matters: DIAC Design Industry Study, DIAC Report, (2004):
45-1, http://www.dx.org/diac/pdfs/DIACFinalReport.pdf.
3Toronto Economic Development formed a working group called the Design Industry Advisory committee
(DIAC) in January 2001. DIAC members represent the design associations of Ontario, Toronto Economic
Development, the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MEDT) and the Design
Exchange (DX).
4Meric S. Gertler and Tara Vinodrai, Designing the Economy: A Profile of Ontarios Design Workforce,
DIAC Report, (2004): 50-1, http://www.dx.org/diac/pdfs/DesigningTheEconomy.pdf.
1
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It is clear that Canada is well positioned to take advantage of the current design
boom. However, the study also reveals some key factors that need to be addressed. There
are comparatively fewer graduate programs in design in Canada. Post-graduate design
programs train design educators, provide a platform for design research, connect design
to other disciplines, and help the evolution of design as a discipline. To add value to
design education, a more collaborative perspective that engages design educators from all
the disciplines, needs to be adopted. The design community feels that it needs a new
image, an image that will celebrate the combination of skills and circumstances that make
Canadian designers a valuable strategic resource for economic and social gains.5
The problems stated above establish the need for sophisticated design education
and the desire for character and image that exhibits a distinct Canadian-ness. It generates
the need to envision a Canadian Institute of Design to promote design and design
education at a national level. This raises several questions that will be addressed through
the course of this thesis. First and foremost: What is an institute of design and what is a
national institute of design? The study stresses the need to engage the heterogeneous
capabilities of Canadian designers from different sectors to promote cross-disciplinary
design initiatives. What sort of an institution, environment, and spatial characteristics
nurtures this approach? The need for a collaborative approach asserts the importance of
design as a social activity in terms of its importance and impact on users and social
environment. How can we make best use of designers skills and creative talents to create
greater social advantage? The notion of image and identity is important in creating
national awareness in design. How can we define Canadian-ness in this context? To sum
up: Is it possible for the Canadian Institute of Design to be a social space, to promote
5DIAC Design Industry Study.
2
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design awareness, democratic participation and exhibit a national character, all at the
same time?
The thesis being put forward is that, in view of the question posed above
architecture can be a catalyst for the unfolding of social space as porous space. A
proposal for the Canadian Institute of Design becomes the vehicle for exploring this
thesis. The primary research begins with a critical analysis of the Bauhaus ideology as a
historical precedent and a survey of several other institutes of design as case studies.
(Chapter 2) This is supplemented by research on Henri Lefebvres theory of space and
George Grant Parkers views on Canadian democracy, following a new understanding of
social space as porous space. The role of porous space in creating environments
conducive to democratic participation and creativity is examined. (Chapter 3) The site for
the project is next to the National War Museum, Ottawa. An analysis of site and context
and the implications of porosity at the urban level are explored in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 is
a survey of design and public participation in Canada. The design of the institute tests,
elaborates and concludes the ideas explored in the thesis. (Chapter 6 and Chapter 7)
1.2 What is an Institute of Design?
This chapter starts with a brief description of a typical institute of design. A
detailed analysis of the Bauhaus and a survey of some other Institutes of Design scattered
over a wide spectrum of geographical territory, is an attempt to familiarize the notion of
such an institute. A critical analysis of the Bauhaus examines the two phases of the
Bauhaus, the early mythic phase (1919 - 1925) associated with poetic self-expression,
and the later rational phase (1925 - 1933) associated with standardized industrial
production. Examples of works, such as those of Itten, Kandinsky and others that are
3
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broadly based under the territory of mythic phase are explained in terms of the manner
in which they exemplify the character of mythic. The mythic phase invigorates inner
subjectivity to create pieces of work that are one of a kind and hence authentic. The
rational phase deems each of these pieces to be ideal objects for mass production. An
appropriated version of the Bauhaus pedagogical programme and a critique of the
Bauhaus ideology in terms of a collaborative approach are considered as prospects to
guide a new design. As a critique of the Bauhaus ideology, the Canadian institute of
design is not an exploration to re-create the mythic and rational
phases/spaces/architecture. As explained in Chapter 6, the institute instigates porosity to
contribute to a collaborative student, profession/ industry and public engagement in the
process of design. The mythic and rational can be more or less present in an institute of
design but the concept of porous space addresses the need for democratic participation in
a Canadian Institute of Design from a contemporary perspective to improve quality and
raise national awareness in design. The other institutes are selected due to their presence
and national contribution to the field of design education and awareness. Some of these
institutes have objectives and social agendas that resonate with the ideals of the Canadian
Institute of Design.
1.3 Porosity
Chapter 3 discusses porosity as a concept. Porous space is social space that is
physically, visually and spatially porous. It is porous to physical and visual movement, to
ideas and to democratic participation. Porosity addresses several groups that are involved,
related and affected by the design process. It entails the formation of a socially
responsive environment that encourages the flow of ideas and people. Physically,
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porosity is also expressed as pores and perforations in the structure that allow physical,
visual and spatial continuity between spaces. Notions of social interaction, democratic
participation and Canadian-ness co-exist in porous space. Chapter 3 also discusses Henri
Lefebvres ideas on social space and George Parkin Grants notions of Canadian
democracy as they relate to porous space. Porous space is not merely porous in an
abstract sense. Porous space is active, operational, productive and multifaceted as it
integrates notions of social interaction, democratic participation and Canadian-ness.
Porous space transgresses the boundaries between public and private spaces, between
work and study spaces between exhibit and workshop spaces. It creates architectural
environments that accommodate the collective creative spirit of the design community.
Further, porosity, democratic participation and collaborative learning contribute to an
environment conducive to creativity.
1.4 Design in Canada
Chapter 4 includes a brief history of design in Canada and a survey of public
participation in Canada. A concise history of design and public participation in Canada is
important in order to appreciate the relevance of porous space and democratic
participation in the Canadian Institute of Design. This survey helps to situate the issues of
national design awareness, education, porosity and democratic participation, discussed in
this thesis, in a broader framework of the history of Canadian Design. Since the Canadian
Institute of design calls for collective involvement of all categories of people involved in
the design community, it is also important to examine the prospects and history of
collective involvement and public participation in Canada.
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1.5 The Site and Context
We must take into account, the site, for the circumstances by which the institute
can contribute to public awareness, democratic participation and address a national
character is also constitutive of the characteristics of its surrounding context. The nature
of the institution calls for national design awareness and public involvement; hence an
ideal location would be a prominent, setting in the urban core, where the city meets the
capital. The site for this institution is next to the War museum. To the east, the site has
strong visual connections to the seat of Canadian Democracy and the core of the national
capital region (Parliament Hill). Immediately to the south, will be a Commons,
community and festival park with a Square for civic celebrations according to National
Capital Commission plans. Chapter 5 includes a brief history of the site and discusses
those features of the site that need to be addressed in the design project. These include
axial visual links to the city and the capital; framed views of the peace tower and the
parliament buildings; pedestrian links and cycle paths that connect the site to Le Breton
flats and further down; the Commons Park; War museum; the edge facing the canal and
NCCs plans for this region.
1.6 Canadian Institute of Design
This section explains how porous space and democratic participation are
employed through design, program and environment. It describes the planning of the
Canadian Institute of Design as a building and as it relates to its urban surroundings; as it
materializes into a porous, democratic, creative environment - architecturally. The
chapter discusses the areas, architectural program and key architectural elements in the
building. The architecture of the Institute of design is porous in nature; porous to ideas
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and democratic participation, to visual and spatial boundaries, to critical and
collaborative thinking, to all members involved in the creative design process.
Porosity implies, a natural flow between spaces, punctured facades and
perforations in the structure, which allow visual and physical movement back and
through. Further, navigating through levels of porosity ranging from visual to actual
spatial transitions, getting a sense of whats happening in the Institute such as everyday
occurrences, moments and exhibits through these pores as framed views, makes it
accessible and inviting to public participation. At the urban level porosity induces visual
and physical links, connecting the Institute to its surroundings. Interior courts that act as
functional and visual filters for LeBreton flats are reinterpreted in the institute as inner
courts or pores. These interior pores and a network of pedestrian links and cycling routes
gather the activity and energy of the site towards the Institute. The Institutes terraces are
accessible and visually connect the war museum to the parliament buildings. The Institute
also manages to establish a sense of place through its setting, architecture and character.
The physical form of the building is the result of a process of complex decisions based on
design factors.
1.7 Conclusions
The concluding chapter recapitulates the questions and concepts discussed earlier
on in the thesis. Is it possible for the Canadian Institute of Design to be a social space, to
promote design awareness, democratic participation and exhibit a national character, all
at the same time? The thesis considers the architectural implications of a new
understanding of social space as porous space, which is heterogeneous, porous and active
through democratic participation.
7
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The DIAC study discussed in the introduction, establishes the need for a Canadian
Institute of Design. A critical appraisal of the Bauhaus and other institutes of design
indicate that, an interdisciplinary, collaborative approach and a national character are
desirable attributes for a proposed Canadian Institute of design. A discussion of Lefebvre
and Grants ideas on social space and Canadian democracy signifies the importance of a
social, participatory, porous environment in the Canadian Institute of Design. This forms
a framework for the design. Finally the porous architecture of the Canadian Institute of
Design brings together many of the above conceptual threads arising out of porous space
namely: social interaction, democratic participation, Canadian-ness and creativity. In the
design project for the Canadian Institute of Design, a porous architecture based upon the
aforementioned theory of porous space is demonstrated.
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8
2 WHAT IS AN INSTITUTE OF DESIGN
Typically, an Institute of design is a multidisciplinary school responsible for the
advancement of knowledge and education of students in the field of design. An Institute
of design offers degrees, programs and courses in disciplines such as Architecture,
Industrial Design, Interior Design, Graphic Design, Visual Communication, Multimedia,
Exhibition and Display Design, Textile Design, Fashion Design, TV, Film and Theatre
Set Design, Design Management, Jewellery Design, Furniture Design etc. Depending on
the nature of the institute, auxiliary Junctions may include applied research, training,
design consultancy services and outreach programs. Whereas an Institute of design can
be part of a university, a national Institute of design is an autonomous body. A national
institute of design promotes the value of design, fosters public awareness of design and
sets standards for the quality of design at a national level.
The history of an Institute of design goes back to 1919 with the inception of the
Bauhaus. The roots and methodological foundation of design education in many
disciplines since the 1920s are found within the Bauhaus. A study of the Bauhaus as a
significant historical precedent and some other contemporary institutes of design is
important in the context of understanding the nature of an institute of design. An
investigation of the spirit of the Bauhaus ideology, the particulars of the mythic and
rational phases, the nature of the social revolution it promised and an understanding of
unanimous characteristics, open up new perspectives. The purpose of analyzing the
Bauhaus as a case study is not to provide a concise, comprehensive, linear history of its
life, nor is it an attempt to compile two hundred years of design education and production
propagated since the Bauhaus. As Wayland Bowser frames it, Thoughtful comparison of
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cause and effect in educational systems of the past will not provide the whole solution to
our problem, but coupled with an equally tough-minded view of our present situation and
some imagination, it offers the best approach we have. 1
2.1 The Bauhaus
In 1919, in Germany, the Bauhaus established itself as an institution with a social
agenda to reform education in art, craft and design and to create a new kind of society.
The Bauhaus Movement had an important impact on the development of design and
production in the twentieth century. It intensified its influence far beyond the circles of
audience for whom it was originally intended. The Bauhaus design and products appear
familiar even today. The Bauhaus sought to affiliate design education with social
idealism and commercial reality. I intend to argue that there was a change of thought
from the mythic phase of the Bauhaus (1919-1925) to the later, more pronounced
objective and rational phase (1925-1933). As the ideals of humanity and self- expression
of the mythic phase, gradually faded, it was replaced by a more exclusive concept of
unity resulting from the willing submission of the personality to a restricted number of
precise forms and to systematic procedures and functional methods of approach capable
of being applied to all aspects of art.
2.1.1 The Mythic Phase
The term myth embraces certain constructions that exist in architecture, which
enable us to connect to those elements of our experience that relate to humanity and self-
expression i.e. things like existence, intuition, truth, value, perception... etc. This kind of
myth is apparent in the early phase of the Bauhaus, and is the essence of creativity that
we may find in all forms of human communication: in intellectual activities, in artistic
1Wayland Bowser, Reforming Design Education, Journal o f Architectural Education 2 (1983): 12.
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creativity, in language, in morality, and in architecture. The mythic phase is humane and
poetic in expression, due to the strong bond between the artist/individual and his ideas,
feelings, explorations expressed through his work. The intention is not to prove any truth
through explorations in art and sculpture. The objective is a struggle to transcend realistic
reproduction to achieve an interpretative design instead of a mere imitation. The use of
the term myth in understanding the early works of the Bauhaus is not so much an
investigation of the meaning of myth, an analysis of the linguistic structures or patterns
revealed, or of ancient, religious myths, rather an interrogation as to how myth exercises
and connects to the human imagination structured around aspects of inner subjectivity,
intuition and humane expression that engages creativity to produce authentic2 pieces of
work.
In attempting to define myth in the context of the Bauhaus, it is relevant to discuss
other important but different notions of myth in brief. The French anthropologist Claude
Levi-Strauss argues that the meaning of myths lies not in their manifest content but rather
in their underlying structure of relations, which typically works to mediate between polar
extremes. In other words, the purpose of myth is to provide a logical model capable of
overcoming a contradiction. Ultimately this leads Levi-Strauss to the notion that the
structure of myths is identical with that of the human mind. Thus the mytho-poetic
(mythmaking) imagination, its structure and operations, is reflected in the structure and
symbols of actual myths. In his effort to understand the world, man always disposes of
a surplus of meaning (which he distributes among things according to the laws of
symbolic thought which it is the task of ethnologists and linguists to study). This
2Here authenticity is analogous to Walter Benjamins concept of aura and authenticity. See Walter
Benjamin, Illuminations, Ed. Hanna Arendt, Trans. Harry Zohn, (New York: Schocken, 1969) 251-217.
11
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distribution of a supplementary ration . . . is absolutely necessary in order that ultimately
the available signifiers and the perceived signifieds remain in that relation of
complementarity which is the very condition of the exercise of symbolic thought.3Levi-
Strauss goes on to associate what he calls the floating signifier with poetry, myth, and
aesthetic creation. Myths are metaphors containing psychological truths, written in
symbolic, rather than literal language, constructed to give meaning to our world. In his
essay Myth Today, the semiologist Roland Barthes presents his view of myth as a
second-order semiological system. What Barthes intends by this conception of
mythology is an intermingling of the signifier and signified, or form and meaning, into a
mode of signification- myth.4
2.1.2 Social Context
During the early years of its foundation, the Bauhaus sought not merely to bring
visual art back into closer tie with everyday life, but to make it the very instrument of
social and cultural regeneration. The ideal envisioned in the early phase was that of a
relationship of fine and applied arts based upon their union. These early years of the
Bauhaus privileged an outpouring of artistic experimentation and cultural creativity
against a background of inflation, depression, shock and the trauma of war.5 The picture
of the Bauhaus at this point of time is predominantly accentuated with mysticism and a
strong sense of patriotism and pride for the vernacular and the regional. This essential
mystic character exemplifies the nature of myth. Art, that is predominant in the mythic
3 See Claude Levi-Strauss, Introduction a loeuvre de Marcel Mauss, in Marcel Mauss, Sociologie et
cmthropologie (Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1968), xlix.
4 For Barthes, myth is a system of communication. It is a message, a mode of signification, a form
(Mythologies, p. 109). With a plethora of complexities and nuances, Barthes extends Saussure's
structuralism and applies it to myth.
5A vivid account of the trauma and reaction to the war in relation to the Bauhaus is given by Eva Forgacs,
The Bauhaus Idea and Bauhaus Politics, Trans. John Batki (New York: CEU Press, 1995) 21-14.
12
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phase, does not try to prove any truth, explain its motivation, or justify its goals. Art can
portray current social conditions, problems and solutions as ideas and images. Myth, like
art, exists as a part of our experience and as an attempt to express our aspirations for a
different kind of reality. The Bauhaus was also in search of a different kind of reality
from the distress of war.
2.1.3 Ittens Preliminary Course
What made the Bauhaus teaching unique, during the mythic phase was the
amount and quality of its theoretical teaching; the intellectual rigour with which it
examined the essentials of visual experience and artistic creativity. Johannes Itten was the
central person during the early years and influenced the first era. Itten who taught the
preliminary course, encouraged the study of materials and textures by working with
materials, their feel and their touch. The primary focus was on the individual student, i.e.
their senses, emotions and intellect, and assisting them to learn about themselves before
deciding on a specific direction. According to Itten, Imagination and creative ability
must first of all be liberated and strengthened. Once this has been achieved, technical and
practical demands and finally commercial considerations may be introduced. Young
people who begin with market research and practical and technical work seldom feel
encouraged to search for something really new. If new ideas are to assume artistic form,
physical, sensual, spiritual, and intellectual forces and abilities must all be equally
available and act in concert. 6
For the Bauhaus foundations course, students were provided with discarded
materials (wire mesh, cardboard, newspapers, matchboxes, phonograph needles and razor
6 Johannes Itten, Design and Form; the Basic Course at the Bauhaus, Trans. John Maass (New York:
Reinhold Public Corporation, 1964) 10.
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blades) and instructed to improvise something out of these. Wood, feathers, mosses, hides
had to be looked at, touched and drawn until they could be re-drawn from memory. In
two of his exercises he required students to work with various textures forms, colours and
tones in both two and three dimensions. The second demanded an analysis of art in terms
of rhythmic lines, which were meant to capture the spirit, the expressive content of the
original. Itten also developed a general theory for the course, the theory of contrast, the
main theme for which was the clair / obscure contrast. This was explored through
various exercises, first in the form of checker-board patterns, then in abstract and finally
in realistic works. Classical pictures were also studied and reproduced by students using
the same theory. By dividing it up into squares, the students were induced to work
through the entire area of the picture with alertness, and to make a new decision each
time regarding the respective gradient of grey to be used. Some maintain that this method
was influenced by Friedrich Froebels pedagogy o f education through play. (Fig. 2.1)
For Itten, art was primarily a psychic means of expression, of high ethical and
educational value. Ittens principles were based upon intuition and method, or subjective
experience and objective recognition. Experiencing is a faculty of the mind and spirit. If
it concerns phenomena of a coarse material kind, then it is the physical faculties which
produce the experience; on the other hand, if it relates to sensitive spiritual phenomena,
then it is the spiritual faculties that produce the experience. Itten initiated mandatory
form and colour education, essentially on the concept of creation, and in the process
developing his theories on colour and the colour circle. In March 1923, Itten left the
Bauhaus because Gropius no longer approved of his teaching methods, in particular of
14
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^m^ss^sasBmsBsm
Figure 2.1 Ittens Preliminary Course
Material studies, waste metal, tree-bark, roots, plants, and other elements mounted on
plywood, by Vincent Weber, 1920/21
A piece of fur, wood, birch bark drawn from memory, by Weimar E. Eisner, L., Leudesdorff-
Engstfeld, R. Schalt. 1922
15
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the preparatory meditation exercises which sometimes proved to be detrimental to
students health.7 Ittens departure was one of the first symptoms of a general re
orientation of the school.
A number of artists, led by Johannes Itten, wanted to develop the Bauhaus style to
that of a traditional art school with an almost monastic lifestyle. Others wished to
integrate the schools works with German society and industry, by conducting exhibitions
of the students work, an idea heavily indebted to the Russian Constructivist movement.
2.1.4 Representation of the Human Body
There seems to be a difference in the manner in which the human body was
perceived and represented during the mythic and rational phases. In his studies, Itten
concentrated on the rhythmical coordination of the body limbs and on the body structure
as a whole. The studies from Oskar Schlemmers class, far from being realistic
representations, clearly show an idealized image of man. Schlemmer extended the life
drawing classes to a course in general theory on the proportions of the human body,
presenting a wide concept of man including formal, biological, as well as psychological
and philosophical aspects. There was an attempt to develop an image of man beyond
anatomy and familiarizing students with philosophical questions. He believed that
abstraction was the calling of art. As is evident from his work, his drawings were not
exact, realistic representations. They were abstractions, highlighting proportions by
juxtaposing subjects in order to study the human figure in relation to lines, shapes and
volumes. (Fig. 2.2 - 2.3)
7For an understanding of Ittens religious belief in Mazdaznan and physical exercises based on the same
see Eva Forgacs, 62-46.
16
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Figure 2.2 Ittens Preliminary Course: Human Body
Rendering of a seated old man with various objects and human study from nature, charcoal
drawing, Erich Dieckmann, 1921.
Figure 2.3 Girls School and Bauhaus Stairway
Oil on canvas, by Oskar Schlemmer, Designated as 20th c German Cubist Paintings at the
Museum of Modem Art, 1930,1932.
17
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2.1.5 Kandinsky and Abstraction
Parallel to the preliminary courses, Wassily Kandinsky offered classes in
analytical drawing and primary artistic design at the Bauhaus from 1923-1933.
Interrogating object and view, Kandinskys abstraction seems to be about the spirit of
inner resonance or myth. For Kandinsky, the inner necessity to express his emotional
perceptions led to the development of an abstract style based on the non-representational
properties of colour and form.8 His compositions were his efforts to create a pure
painting that would provide a strong emotional power and the transcendence of
representation by abstract imagery. From his drawings, he carefully removed the
representational elements, from his compositions and transferred the subject matter
conveyed by these elements to the distinctive contours of colour and form. (Fig. 2.4 - 2.5)
Returning to his studio one evening at dusk, Wassily Kandinsky was enchanted
by an unexpected spectacle. He suddenly saw an indescribably beautiful picture,
pervaded by an inner glow, he wrote in his Reminiscences of 1913. At first, I stopped
short and then quickly approached this mysterious picture, on which I could discern only
forms and colours and whose content was incomprehensible. At once, I discovered the
key to the puzzle: it was a picture I had painted, standing on its side against the wall.
Kandinsky was deeply affected, and attempted a re-creation of his impression of the
picture; but the light was not right, and the objects in the painting obstructed his reverie.
Now I could see that objects harmed my pictures, he concluded, noting that a
terrifying abyss of all kinds of questions, a wealth of responsibilities stretched before
8The work of art is a construction making use of all the potentialities of form and colour and the motive
may be psychological - Kandinsky called it spiritual or geistig in German.
18
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Figure 2.4 Several Circles (Einige Kreise)
Oil on canvas, by Wassily Kandinsky, 1926.
Figure 2.5 In the Gray
Oil on canvas, by Wassily Kandinsky, 1919.
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me. And most important of all: What is to replace the missing object?9
In many ways, the development of art in the 20th century was a search for an
answer to Kandinskys question. The object is surely dead, Paul Klee wrote in his
diary, The sensation of the object is of first importance.10 The critic Carl Einstein
agreed, noting that art is but a constant wrestling with optical experiments and invented
space. Einstein maintained that to advance art one must transform space; and to
transform space one must first eliminate rigid objects, conventional receptacles and in
so doing, call into question the view itself.11
The German scholar Klaus Lankheit believes that for Kandinsky spirituality refers
to the subjective freedom of creative man,12 and another German expert, Wieland
Schmied, feels that Kandinsky wanted to raise the problem of the purpose of art13 by
introducing the possibility of its spirituality. I think they are both correct, if incomplete in
their understanding of what Kandinsky meant by the spiritual. From Lankheit and
Schmieds understanding, it is clear that the crisis that led Kandinsky to create a modem
spiritual art, an art that would clearly express a spiritual attitude, had two aspects. It was a
crisis of creativity, that is, it involved the question as to how much subjective freedom
there is in creativity, implying that if creativity is not completely free subjectively, if it is
bound by objective necessity, it is not really creativity. It was also a crisis that involved
the question of the purpose of art in the modem materialistic world.
9 Wassily Kandinsky, Reminiscences, in Kandinsky: Complete Writings on Art, Volume One, 1901-1921,
ed. Kenneth C. Lindsay and Peter Vargo (Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1982), 369-370.
10Felix Klee, ed., The Diaries o f Paul Klee (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1964), 670.
11Carl Einstein, Aphorismes Methodiques, Documents (1929), 32.
12 Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc, eds. The Blaue Reiter Almanac, New Documentary Edition ed.
Klaus Lankheit, trans. Henning Falkenstein (New York: Viking, 1974) 154.
13 Wieland Schmied, Points of Departure and Transformations in German Art 1905-1985, in German Art
in the 20th Century: Painting and Sculpture 1905-1985, (London: Royal Academy of Arts and Munich:
Prestel, 1985)34.
20
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2.1.6 Sommerfield house
Walter Gropius and Hannes Meyer designed the Sommerfield house in 1920
during the early phase of the Bauhaus. Built of wood, the reliefs represent the different
sectors of Sommerfields carpentry business, and they are symbolic to the process and
devices typical of carpentry work. Whitford describes the Sommerfield house as, built
entirely in wood, it is picturesque, peculiar and expressionist. (Fig. 2.6 - 2.7) Germany
lost the First World War in 1918. The shock of the war followed by ecstatic revolutionary
events offered a vantage point so that an appeal to tradition and craft skills could be a
moral reaction to the war. The extensive use of wood was also due to the scarcity of
other construction materials at the time. In addition to Sommerfield house, none of the
earliest objects from the Bauhaus that contribute to the mythic phase take their
inspiration from industrial technology. The massive, blocky shapes of Lili Grafs wooden
chest and some other objects of the time seem to resemble folk art. This attitude of the
first phase could be understood considering the early Bauhaus interest in handicraft and
the widespread anti-industrial and religious sentiment among German artists at the time.
The mythic and rational phases could also be understood as two competing
ideologies On the one hand, there were artists investing the individual with power to
transform society, and on the other, there were artists fired by the communal ideal of
collectivism.
2.1.7 The Rational Phase
During the second phase of the schools life, quasi-scientific ideas gradually
replaced romantic notions of artistic self-expression and brought about important changes
in the schools curriculum and teaching methods. The rational phase embraced the years
21
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Figure 2.6 Sommerfield House
Berlin, entrance, teak wood, by Walter Gropius, Adolf Meyer, 1920.
Figure 2.7 Banister Detail
Sommerfield House, Berlin, symbolic representation of Sommerfields saw mill in teak
wood, Joost Schmidt, 1920-1921.
22
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in which the tottering German economy stabilized and the nations industry began to
flourish. The reality of technical civilization, led to different requirements. Industrial
potentials were to be applied to satisfactory design standards, regarding both functional
and aesthetic aspects. So the Bauhaus workshops produced prototypes for mass
production: from a single lamp to a complete dwelling.14
The rational phase is rooted in industry. Science or applied science in the form of
technology, engineering and industrial production characterizes the role model for
modernism. With absolute faith in technology, modernism cultivated an obstinate,
reductive attitude towards design, as well as cliches about a clean, functional, mechanical
architecture in the supposed service of freedom, social equality, order, hygiene and
progress. It is this faith in industry and production that constitutes the later phase of the
Bauhaus.
2.1.8 Model house
In the first Bauhaus Exhibition in Weimar, a model house, designed by the
Bauhaus was opened to the public. This was conceived as a self-contained entity and
constructed on the site of the schools activities. The interior of the house was the result
of efforts of various workshops. So a functional prototype of the modem home was
constructed with a basic cubic form, a flat roof and renunciation of any type of ornament.
(Fig. 2.8) It had all the features and functions of the modem kitchen. It was unlike the
homes of that time. Although it was intended as a commercially viable alternative for
14For George Muches view on the rational aspect of the Bauhaus see Frank Whitford, The Bauhaus
Masters and students by themselves (London: Conran Octopus, 1992) 217. By the late-1920s some designs
entered production, ranging from Marcel Breuers Wassily chair to Marianne Brandts Kandem bed
lamp, see Wingler, 1969, Humbiet, 1980, and Forgacs, 1995.
23
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'1
3sj: tr.%; i
Figure 2.8 Model House
Haus Am Horn, cavity wall construction, made of lightweight concrete panels, by George
Muche.
Figure 2.9 Bauhaus Directors office location
Dessau, designed by Walter Gropius.
24
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housing in Germany, it became an early expression of the modem suburban American
homes from the 1950s and 60s.
2.1.9 Directors Office at Bauhaus, Dessau
The Bauhaus directors office by Gropius is another product of the rational phase. The
design and rational layout of different elements are derived from the logic of spatial
continuity. The design is the exact definition of the matrices constituted by its key
elements: i.e. the furniture, lighting, openings. These technical volumes interconnect by
means of lines, chromatic planes and geometrical frameworks. A study of the
axonometric view reveals the method of composition employed, which is rationalism as
the geometrical measurement of the parts. Gropius designed the furniture for the office
which was made in the carpentry workshop, and the lamp, with its series of fluorescent
tubes. The carpet was produced in the fabric workshop. In a way it appears to be a
standard office space that could be anywhere except that the furniture and decor are
Bauhaus designs and products. So rational here is not related to the formal appearance
but rather, this way of creating standard or model spaces which could be produced as
prototypes anywhere irrespective of the context. (Fig. 2.9 - 2.10)
2.1.10 Joseph Albers Homage to the Square
Joseph Albers worked on a series of squares that he called Homage to the
Square. It is a disarmingly simple work. The optical effects he created, i.e. shimmering
colour contrasts and the illusion of receding and advancing planes were meant to
challenge the viewers faculties of visual reception. This shift in emphasis from
perception willed by the artist to reception engineered by the viewer is the philosophical
root of the homage to the square series. He tried to teach the mechanics of vision and
25
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Figure 2.10 Bauhaus Directors office
Axonometric view, Dessau, designed by Walter Gropius.
Figure 2.11 Homage to the square series
Joseph Albers.
Figure 2.12 Moholy Nagys Preliminary Course
Balance/equilibrium study, wood, metal parts,
wire, Weimar, by Charlotte Victoria, 1924,
reconstruction 1967.
26
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show even the uninformed viewer how to see. The homage to the square series is also
distinguished by the carefully recorded inscriptions of technical details on the back of
each panel. This codification of the making of the painting, along with the reductively
systematic application of colours, is characteristic of the rational phase, when painting
was stripped of the transcendental. (Fig. 2.11)
2.1.11 Laszlo Moholy-Nagy
Moholy Nagy, a rationalist, abandoned subjective approaches to art, preferring an
objective view of the world. However, he saw the importance of combining artistic
creativity with technology. He admired the Russian Constructivists, particularly Vladimir
Tatlin who, inspired by Picassos Cubist paintings, sculptures and particularly his
collages, created constructions out of junk -string, cardboard and rubbish. At the time,
Constructivist ideas spread and their rejection of notions of naturalism or romanticism
propagated. They were creating art that was not only abstract, but absolute - absolute
geometric form. These ideas intersected with the New Objectivity movement in
Germany which replaced expressionism with themes of practicality, restraint and
discipline. These themes dominated the new design aesthetics of the times.
Moholy-Nagy avoided mysticism and romanticism believing in the potential of
abstract art to create new visual laws of pure and simple logic. His teaching emphasized
the objective study of colour and form, using new techniques and materials. On replacing
Itten as head of the metal workshop and the preliminary course, he discouraged artistic
handcraft and concentrated on producing prototypes for mass production.15 He had
difficulty convincing the students to stop producing finely hand-worked objects in
15 For Moholy Nagys diary notes and own accounts see Whitford, 159-169.
27
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precious metals in favour of electrical household appliances and light fittings. But he
said: to be a user of machines is to be of the spirit of this century.
Moholy-Nagy avoided the use of silver and other expensive metals in favour of
sheet steel. Instead of silver wine jugs and coffee services, he directed the students to use
nickel and chrome plating, and to produce prototypes for the lighting fixture industry.
Moholy-Nagy created a new character for the workshop, linking at the same time
education and industrial production. He noted that there was a conspicuous need for
simple and functional objects for daily use, and he set the students to produce models for
mass production, which manufacturers paid royalties to produce. Marianne Brandt
designed a table lamp which is still manufactured today. (Fig. 2.12-2.13)
The appointment of Moholy-Nagy and former students, such as Marcel Breuer, to the
teaching staff guided the Bauhaus to a straightforward and worldly approach. This meant
stressing practical design, mixing craftwork and industry which would combine the
learning of trade expertise with design artistry and provide the best opportunity for
students in practical training for their role as industrial designers. Instead of precious
materials, the students now used common materials, turning out functional light fittings
rather than decorative ones.
2.1.12 Bauhaus Prototypes for Industry
The Cooperation between the Bauhaus and the Lamp Factory Kandem led to the
production of a series of lamps that were both technical and formal landmarks. The
Bauhaus program of direct cooperation with industry could here be successfully realized
for the first time. The position of the company in the field of lighting technology, linked
with its methods of development oriented towards practical use, were an ideal
28
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KANDEM
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c A M b i M . o o r H i m i N o i i . w t i C N T t
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Figure 2.13 Bauhaus Kandem lights
Marianne Brandt, 1927.
KLUUSC&SCl
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Figure 2.14 Bauhaus Furniture Prototypes
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combination with the Bauhaus ideas of functional product design. The lamps were
developed by students of the Bauhaus together with Kandem lighting technicians. They
soon made their way into apartments and offices. Within a few years more than 50,000 of
these work and ceiling lamps were sold. This was proof to the Bauhaus that its designs
could indeed become industrially finished mass-products and reach a correspondingly
wide public. Similarly, the rational phase produced furniture that could be models for
industrial production. The furniture developed followed a set of rules: it should be light
and suitable for many uses, easily to be taken apart and therefore mobile. (Fig. 2.14)
2.1.13 Workshops
The Bauhaus interior workshop developed new parts and connectors and used
inexpensive home-grown woods. Aesthetic criteria were subordinated to this new type of
construction. This way a new type of lightweight, functional furniture emerged, aimed at
developing inexpensive furniture for a wide market. The workshops were designed to
enable students to become well rounded in all disciplines. It was an effective teaching
method because it catered for kinesthetic as well as auditory and visual learning. The re
location of the Bauhaus to the industrial center of Dessau from the cultural hub of
Weimar was intended to encourage a closer relationship between art and industrial
design. Whereas in the mythic phase and early years at Weimar the emphasis was on
individual work, the Bauhaus of Dessau and the rational phase became more focused on
industry. From the Bauhaus came kitchen utensils, furniture, toys and other products that
are so common in modem life that many people today would be surprised to discover
they originated in the first quarter of the century. In the rational phase, Moholy-Nagy
30
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took over the foundation course from Itten. He brought a constructivist and functionalist
thinking to the course.
In the Bauhaus rational philosophy, the form of objects is a result of a detailed
functional analysis of the problem. Theoretically, the form emerged from this functional
analysis of purpose and materials. The designer simply brought all these factors together
in a coherent way. Unlike the artist, the designer did not impose his/her personality on the
problem to get to the potential solution. Is it surprising that so many different products
ended up looking so similar? Yet even here, there was a practical point: simple geometric
shapes allowed for easier industrial production and standardization.
2.1.14 Gropius and the Rational Phase
There is a strong parallel between the rational phase of the Bauhaus and Gropius
vision of architecture. In Walter Gropius words, The full consciousness of my
responsibility as an architect came to me as a result of the First World War, during which
my theoretical premises first took shape. The violent eruption, made every thinking man
feel the necessity for an intellectual change of front. Each in his own particular sphere
aspired to help in bridging the disastrous gulf between reality and idealism. It was then
that the immensity of the mission of the architect of my own generation first dawned on
me. This is more than just a lost war. A world has come to an end. We must seek a
radical solution to our problems. 16Gropius radical solution emerged in the form of the
Bauhaus.
Gropius criticized builders in a memorandum, Overloading and false
romanticism in place of good proportions and practical simplicity have, for all purposes,
16Gropius to James Marston Fitch in conversation. Peter Gay, Weimar Culture: The Outsider as Insider
(London: Secker&Warburg, 1969), 9.
31
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become the tendency of our age. He saw a way back to quality and style: an
organization that would apply industrial techniques to the building trade. Mass
production had proved beneficial in combining the highest quality of raw materials and
labour with low prices; to treat service of cultural ends. A return to handicraft,
Gropius concluded, was impracticable, in fact unthinkable; the road to the future lay in
the intelligent application of prefabrication and standardization.17 While political,
industrial and technological dominance gave power to warring nations, the after effects
were morally weakening. A whole generation was lost to the war. The ideal of progress
of humanity was hard to maintain when civilized nations had committed such barbarities.
The experience of war made many question the value of the society they lived in. The
reason for the massive casualties in the war was very clear: technology in the form of
massed artillery, machine guns, planes, gas shells, tanks and submarines. Women, who
used to live a purely domestic life, were now working in large numbers in factories while
men went out to the battlefields. Society changed. It became clear that industrial
production (i.e. mass production) was the key to winning the war, not individual heroism.
This war coordinated and rationalized the industrial forces of Europe and North America.
The rational phase sought to alienate the objective, essential knowable truth and beauty,
totality and unity that can be found; whose meaning can be known, understood, and
mastered through scientific means.
2.1.15 The Bauhaus as an Institute
The Bauhaus had a tremendous influence on design and art in general. It was not
just a matter of the style of its products, but just as much, its teaching methods and
17The memorandum is partially reprinted in Hans M. Wingler, ed., Das Bauhaus: 1919-1933 Weimar
Dessau Berlin (Bram: Verl. Gebr. Rapidly & CO, 1962) 26-27.
32
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program. Unlike traditional academies, some of which survived by copying historical
styles and methods, teaching in the Bauhaus centered on teaching individual creativity as
a means of problem solving. Another key difference from the past was the idea of the
new. That is, that new forms, shapes and solutions could be created to suit new
problems. The origins of Bauhaus were far from the earlier methods of education in
industrial art, art proper and architecture. Its program was based on the newest
knowledge in pedagogy.
The idealistic basis of Bauhaus was a socially orientated program; that an artist or
architect must be conscious of his social responsibility to the community and the
community has to accept the artist or architect and support him or her. This ideal is
equally relevant today. But above all the intention of Bauhaus was to develop creative
minds for architecture and industry and teach them to produce artistically, technically and
practically balanced utensils. The institute included workshops for making models of type
houses and all kinds of utensils, and departments of advertising art, stage planning,
photography, and typography.
As an institution, the Bauhaus was a university-level school of art and design.
Building on the ideas of William Morris18 and Peter Behrens, the curriculum centered
around the premise that the fusion of the fine arts with crafts and technology would yield
higher quality design work for production by industry. Over the course of little more than
10 years, the work of the students and faculty at the Bauhaus elevated it to the forefront
of the burgeoning modem movement. As a publicly funded institution, the school was
particularly susceptible to political tides and was closed by the Nazi regime in 1932.
18For an understanding of Morris influence from one of his lectures in 1894 see Hans M. Wingler, The
Bauhaus: Weimar, Dessau, Berlin, Chicago, trans. Wolfgang Jabs and Basil Gilbert (Cambridge, Mass:
MIT Press, 1969) 19.
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Arguably, the closing of the Bauhaus did more than any other single event to spread the
ideas developed there, as former members made their way around the globe after being
forced out. As a result, most modem design work and design education have roots in the
Bauhaus.
2.1.16 The Bauhaus Architecture
The Bauhaus Dessau building was designed by Gropius as a model of the type of
rationalism espoused by the school. Adherents to this new aesthetic attacked the
emphasis on ornament prevalent in 19th century Western architecture, thus the building
contains very few non-functional elements. The primary structural material is steel
reinforced concrete, and window facades are designed as hanging (non-structural) walls.
Dessau was one of several locations of the school, following Weimar and preceding
Berlin. It is interesting to observe that the curriculum and standard prototypes produced
by the Bauhaus still survives today, in a similar outlook, in most design institutions and
industries.
The line between the romantic idea of resistance to industrialization through the
design of hand-crafted, one-off environments, and the equally romantic idea of
embracing progressive machine-age reproduction, was drawn many times in history. The
Bauhaus developed mass-reproducible designs, the production and licensing of which
literally funded some of its day-to-day operations. Hence the factory aesthetic of the
schools Dessau building, designed by Gropius and Meyer in 1925-1926. Less obviously,
however, this embrace of industrialization begins with the designer. Not only are objects
designed, mass-produced, and disseminated; the designer himself or herself is designed
as a product, to be manufactured and distributed. The Bauhaus produced designers and
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dispersed them around the world. The vast glass walls of the Dessau building which, in
Gropius words, dematerialize the line between inside and outside, suggest this
immanent launching outward of both students and their designs. The preoccupation of
architecture with visual order and space does not lead to an understanding of the
organization of contemporary society and human behaviour. Form follows function,
was a great liberation but it brought back the arbitrary necessity of form. This tragic
insistence on form can be observed in the Bauhaus school, with functionalism at its peak,
during its rational phase. (Fig. 2.15-2.16)
In spite of the historical matrix and the location of Bauhaus in Germany, a
Canadian Institute of Design with the Bauhaus pedagogical program, seems viable due to
its wide spread influence and pedagogical principles that are still followed today. With
the closing of the Bauhaus School in 1933, the Bauhaus movement began as teachers and
students migrated across Europe and North America. Various work and collaborations
were undertaken in Europe where the Bauhaus influence was evident. However, it was in
North America that the modernist movement in architecture took its strongest root where
American firms and institutions sought many of the Bauhaus masters.
The Bauhaus was itself explicitly conceived as a total work of art, a glorious
building produced by a singular allusion of different disciplines, resources, and
techniques. Gropius never stopped searching for what he called the oneness of a
common idea around which artists of every kind could be gathered in a grand teamwork.
The institutional space of this singular idea is even comparable to a domestic interior.
The Bauhaus factory presented itself as a family, complete with daily activities of
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Students' housing
Administration offices
Labaratories
Figure 2.15 Bauhaus Plan, Dessau.
Figure 2.16 Bauhaus building
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sleeping, eating, and playing. In contrast the products of the factory or workshops were
to be mass-produced in industry and cater to the masses in comparison to the intimate
scale of a family.
2.1.17 Questioning Mythic and Rational
Today, does a culture dominated by every form of cybernetics and digital fantasy,
including the seamless articulation of the human body with intelligent machines really
address humanity? One may also question, the character of the mythic phase of the
Bauhaus, today. Maybe it is an elapsed phenomenon, reflecting the primitive
manifestation of culture, and it should be rejected. There is a danger of returning to an
irrational state of thinking, the danger of losing individual freedom of thought and
imagination for the sake utopian ideology.
Alberto Perez-Gomez, in Architecture and the Crisis of Modem Science, says:
Truth - demonstrable through the laws of science - constitutes the fundamental basis
upon which human decisions are made over and above reality, which is always
ambiguous and accessible only through the realm of poetics. ... Modem man ... has
forgotten his fragility and his capacity for wonder, generally assuming that all the
phenomena of his world, from water or fire to perception or human behaviour have been
explained. ... Art can be beautiful of course, but only seldom is it understood as a
profound form of knowledge.19 Enterprises such as instrumental power, scientific
curiosity and utopianism, unless wedded to some polarity of existence, become endless
pursuits of fine objectives, usually without any finality.
19Alberto Perez-Gomez, Architecture and the Crisis o f Modem science (Cambridge and London: The MIT
Press, 1983)5.
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2.2 The Institute of Design (ID), Illinois
When one speaks of IDs history, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy comes into the picture.
Moholy supervised the Visual Fundamentals program that was central to the Bauhaus.
The Nazi government, considering the Bauhaus subversive, closed it in 1933. Four years
later, Moholy-Nagy came to Chicago at the invitation of the Association of Arts and
Industries, which wanted to open a design school to augment the economic and cultural
life of the city. Moholy-Nagy set up his idea of total education and called the school
The New Bauhaus. The Association members felt it was too experimental and just over
a year later, in the fall of 1938, withdrew their support. Moholy, however, continued his
pursuit. He reopened the school under a new name, the Chicago School of Design. In
1944 it acquired its present title, the Institute of Design now absorbed by the IIT.
The Institute of Design (ID) at Illinois Institute of Technology is a leader in
teaching systemic, human-centered design. Together, faculty and students at ID approach
design problems from many perspectives, employing analytic and synthetic design
methods to identify current and future needs and to humanize the technology needed to
solve those problems. Through research initiatives, ID is constantly developing new
methodologies for user-centered, strategic design.
2.2.1 ID Methods
Human-centered design has branched out of traditional design, social sciences,
engineering, and business. It is taught at ID through a highly effective framework of four
human factors, which address the physical, cognitive, social, and cultural factors involved
in peoples interactions with products, systems, and organizations. The framework of
20 All information regarding IDs methods have been obtained from <http://www.id.iit.edu/profiIe>
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human factors supports IDs designers as they address not only the users physical
capabilities and cognitive functions, but also the cultural background and social situation
of the user at the time of using the product or service. As a result, ID students learn how
to modify a product for different environments, for different situations within a culture,
and ultimately, for the market of one.
In addition to the human factors framework, the Institute of Design uses a range
of methods to help gather data, analyze and understand human behaviour and symptoms,
and to develop prototypes to test human-centered designs. Following are brief
descriptions of some of those methods.
2.2.2 Ethnographic Observation
Ethnographic observation is a method originally used in social science research.
ID students utilize this method to understand unarticulated needs and issues that users of
particular products, environments, software, and systems have in order to create
innovative design solutions.
2.2.3 Video Ethnography
Video ethnography is a way to capture human behaviour in the context of the
persons natural environment as a means of gaining insights about user behaviour and
assess needs. Videotaping allows students to view and re-view user behaviour. The
analysis of the tapes is used to present insights and implications for design solutions. Not
only is videotaping essential at the beginning of the design process as needs are
identified, but it is also important throughout the process as students gain an
understanding of a particular user context as prototypes are developed.
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2.2.4 Disposable Camera Studies
Disposable camera studies is a new method at ID that enables students to gain
insights about places they cannot access, such a peoples homes. Because they are so
inexpensive, students can give disposable cameras to users so they can document their
environments and objects in context. Because this method involves the subjectivity of the
participants instead of the student doing the research, students get a glimpse of life
through the users eyes.
2.2.5 Observation with Prototypes
ID students give their prototypes to users as a means of observing typical
interactions. Students use video ethnography and field notes to document their
observations. The insights they gain allow them to determine what works, or doesnt, and
why, so they can refine their concepts from actual experimentation.
2.2.6 New Human Factors
New human factors include methods to understand the broad terrain of human
needs in a methodical way, needs people may not even know they have and hence do not
express them. These processes extend far beyond the focus groups and surveys applied in
traditional marketing. Employing the principles of human factors, in combination with
ethnographic observation methods, can help product-development teams create value-rich
products.
2.2.7 Physical Human Factors
Understanding physical human factors and capacities helps students design
products, environments, and systems that fit the physiological capability of users. This
area of study expanded greatly during World War II when, to build submarines, aircraft,
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and tanks, the armed forces needed to understand what men could and could not tolerate.
NASA research also led to important understanding about physical needs in extreme
situations.
2.2.8 Cognitive Human Factors
Understanding cognitive human factors helps students take into account cognitive
patterns, such as how people receive, process, and understand information. Only by
knowing how people best absorb information, attach meaning, and develop memory can
we present effectively. This becomes critical as we integrate increasingly complex
information into product and services.
2.2.9 Social Human Factors
Understanding social human factors helps students create products, environments,
and systems that enable people to work more effectively either individually or in teams.
This understanding is increasingly vital to the growing use of empowered teams as the
cornerstone of enterprises.
2.2.10 Cultural Human Factors
Understanding cultural human factors helps product-development teams avoid
creation of products, environments, and systems that conflict with values and patterns of
behaviour. Cultural influences on human perception and behaviour are often difficult to
grasp, yet such understanding is essential when developing products for new markets or
when creating fundamentally new products that current markets will use in entirely
different ways
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2.2.11 Prototyping
Prototyping produces a succession of mock-ups to sharpen on a concept. ID
students use a combination of conceptual and behavioural prototypes to reach their final
designs. ID students create these prototypes so people will not have to rely on verbal
descriptions that often lead to a variety of interpretations.
2.3 Design Institute of Australia (DIA), Melbourne
The DIA is an Institute recognised as a dynamic body representing designers in
Australia and promoting high ethical and professional standards through education,
information and event management.21 While the DIA administers cooperative,
collaborative support services to members, government and the community, the backbone
of the institute following its history embedded in industrial roots is based on industrial
enterprise.
2.3.1 The History of the DIA
In the 1920s and 1930s, Australian industry was far behind the developments
taking place overseas. The general attitude within management and design at the time
was either to copy a product from a glossy magazine or directly from the imported article.
Another approach was to produce a product made under license to an offshore company,
thus saving on design and development costs. It could often present a reduction in tooling
costs as tooling could also be imported.22
Frederick Ward, Frances Burke, Hera Roberts, Roy de Maistra, Michael
OConnell and others in Melbourne and Sydney who were designing quality furniture and
fabrics for small scale production in the early 1930s, brought about the beginning of a
21 All information obtained from <http://www.dia.org.au/>
22 See Ron Rosenfeldt, The History of the DIA, LFDIA, (1999).
<http://www.dia.org.au/index.cfin?module=about&id=31&section=history>
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consciousness of good design in products. With the advent of the Second World War in
1939, new processes and techniques were brought from overseas and developed
alongside those created by local technicians.
Secondary industry expanded in size and range to meet the increasing demands of
the war effort. New technological processes, new materials and greater demands gave an
impetus to the productive capacity of the nation.
During the early post-war years, the demand for goods outstripped supply. When
markets began to tighten and industry found itself faced with competition, both within
Australia and without, manufacturers and distributors understood the need to improve the
products they made or handled.
In 1947, the first gatherings of interested designers were held that led to the
emergence of the Society of Designers for Industry (SDIA), followed later, by its
development into the Industrial Design Institute of Australia.
2.3.2 The Voice of Design in Australia
The DIA is an organization working for the future of the design professions in
Australia. It is the only multidisciplinary organisation of designers in Australia. It speaks
out for all designers. Since 1947 the Design Institute of Australia has been actively
improving community recognition and status of designers. Its a professional body for
designers run by designers. Working through its State Branches and National Council the
DIA promotes the value of design and designers to industry, business, government and
the community. It provides a vibrant networking base on a state, national and
international level. Through its international affiliations it links its members with
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designers in over 40 countries. Membership benefits include representation, information,
professional development, events and newsletters.
2.3.3 Areas of Design Represented
The DIA welcomes members practising in all fields of design. It has classes of
membership for members from industries and businesses who associate with, trade with
or service the design sector and membership classes for people from educational
organisations training designers.
The DIAs Constitution lists the following disciplines:
Industrial Design, Interior Design, Interior Architecture, Graphic Design, Visual
Communication, Multimedia, Exhibition and Display Design, Textile Design, Fashion
Design, TV, Film and Theatre Set Design, Design Management, Design Education,
Jewellery Design, Furniture Design, Interior Decoration, Architecture. The Constitution
allows for the inclusion of other design disciplines not specifically listed.
2.3.4 National Charter of the DIA Mission Statement
To promote and assist the effective excellence, political influence, and co
operative spirit of the Australian design professions and enhance their relevance to
Government, business and society.
Key Roles of the DIA
To support the DIAs vision, the key roles are to:
promote excellence in the professional design industry through education and
professional development;
provide timely, relevant and targeted information and support services to
members and, where appropriate, government and the community
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conduct research and formulate policies that affect present and future directions of
activity
uphold the input value of design in the national framework of business and the
community
represent the views and interests of the design profession to government,
regulatory bodies, business, education, and the community
maintain and enforce a members code of professional and ethical conduct
develop and maintain strategic alliances with similar organisations overseas to
further the interests and roles of the Institute
provide event management services for the promotion of design excellence in the
different sectors of the industry
2.4 The Institute of Design Research and Outreach (IDRO), Iowa
The Institute for Design Research and Outreach (IDRO) at Iowa State University
emphasizes on applied research, closely linked with both the instructional and outreach
missions of the institution and its four departments: architecture, art and design,
community and regional planning, and landscape architecture. Through IDRO, faculty
and students work in adjunction with citizen groups and communities in addressing real-
world problems and in exploring opportunities for new research initiatives.
Broadly defined, IDROs overall mission is to motivate creative approaches to solving
design problems. It strives to promote interdisciplinary design research, to facilitate
communication with design professionals and the public and to respond to the needs of
the people of Iowa in areas associated with the design disciplines. Current areas of study
include community sustainability, environmental awareness and responsiveness,
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implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), historic preservation, and
the use of the Iowa Communications Network (ICN) for public education. Programs are
conducted around these fields of emphasis and expertise. Projects often are carried out
collaboratively.23
2.4.1 Outreach Efforts
IDRO works with Iowa industries on projects of mutual interest. Student groups
and faculty teams explore concepts for new products and new applications. When
students and faculty work with business groups, local government units, citizen groups,
and design professionals, they are continuing the long tradition of Iowa State University
in providing Extension services through integrated outreach. Outreach efforts both
respond to the needs of the state and look out for emerging needs in areas that are
represented by the design disciplines. Design faculty work primarily in the area of
applied research, exploring and developing solutions for design problems within specific
contexts. The products of this research can range from problem-solving processes to
bodies of information to pieces of equipment to physical works of art. Faculty and
students have, for instance, worked in affiliation with the Iowa Energy Center and
supermarket owners to design display shelves with energy-efficient, built-in lighting.
Other partnerships with business and industry have worked on the applications of
computer-to-window treatments and recreational vehicle designs.
2.4.2 Professional Development
IDROs professional development programs respond to the call for integration of
research, theory, and practice. Programs are conducted in cooperation with the American
23 All information obtained from <http://www.design.iastate.edu/>
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Institute of Architects (AIA) Iowa Chapter, the American Planning Association (APA)
Iowa Chapter, and the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). In addition,
IDRO provides funding for professional development seminars for members of Iowas
professional design community.
2.4.3 Professional Partnerships
The research and outreach activities of the college are strengthened by the
network of relationships that IDRO maintains with all levels of government, professional
organizations, and other departments and agencies of Iowa State University. Joint
projects are planned with the Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT), the Iowa
Department of Economic Development (IDED), the Iowa Department of Natural
Resources (IDNR), the Iowa Department of Public Instruction, the Iowa Arts Council
(IAC), the Iowa Energy Center (IEC), and the Iowa Transportation Center. Collaborative
undertakings have involved the state chapters of professional associations as well as
representatives of professional design firms.
2.5 The Netherlands Design Institute, Amsterdam
The Netherlands Design Institute, which was founded in 1993, is a think-and-do
container whose mission is to increase the economic and social contribution of design.
The Institutes projects bring together a variety of design specialists, users, and experts in
many other disciplines. They come from universities, research institutes and companies
around the world.
As an independent, non-profit foundation, the Institute receives core funding from
the Dutch government and the city of Amsterdam. Further revenues come from
companies investing in research; from other government ministries; and from the
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European Commission. A full-time staff, led by the director, works on a regular basis
with about 20 independent associates. Each year the Design Institute organises about 60
research studies, workshops, seminars and conferences - plus a number of research
projects in which new product or service ideas are tested in practice.24
2.5.1 The Changing Role of Design
Design - like innovation - is one of those words, which mean different things in
different contexts; despite decades of discussion and contemplation, no one has yet come
up with a commonly accepted definition. Although many people might perceive design to
be all about appearances, design is not just about the way things look. It is also about the
way things are used; how they are communicated to the world; and the way they are
organized and produced.
Many of the problems facing society are multi-dimensional: unemployment, an
ageing population, and the environment. But the institutions we expect to solve those
problems - government, science, education, and he professions - are not
multidimensional. Design therefore has an important new role to play in turning policy
concepts into ideas or stories that can inspire people to act. The particular contribution of
designers is to use their planning skills to turn a concept into a story, and their
visualization skills to make that story visible. The process of design is highly interactive,
intense, and imaginative. The process also involves designers in collective work with
other disciplines.
The central process of the Institute is the identification of new issues that confront
design. Potential partners are located and, with them, the Institute identifies action points.
24All information obtained from <http://www.design-inst.nl>
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Design scenarios are then created by multi-disciplinary groups which also conceptualise
new products or services. Whatever the outcome, the whole process is based on a
publishing model in which ideas and results are dispersed through a variety of media and
events.
2.5.2 Themes for Research
The Institutes activities are organized according to a number of themes: Design
and Industry, Age and Care, Environmental Sustainability, Cities and Regions, New
Skills, and, importantly, Connectivity. Continuous evaluation of developments in the new
economy, and new interactions between Design and Industry, inform much of the
Institutes work. The contribution of design to innovation is explored with dynamic small
companies from different parts of Europe in a project called the European Design
Industry Summit. Entrepreneurial flair and innovation are easier to describe than to teach;
regular workshops investigate how successful companies use design to innovate. These
are not abstract affairs - innovation is discussed among the managers of real companies.
The institute also brings these managers into contact with young designers in our annual
Young Designers and Industry event.
The design of services in relation to Age and Care is an important theme for the
Institute and its partners. More than 50 percent of all European adults will soon be older
than 50, and products and services are needed not just to meet their individual needs but,
more importantly, to help older people look after each other. For older people there is a
need for better communication, which can be more important than high-tech physical aids
to their welfare. Indeed better communications can reduce the call made on welfare
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services. Designing the infrastructure - and in particular, interfaces easily used by older
people - is an important focus of the Institutes programme.
Pervading all the Institutes work is the theme of Environmental Sustainability. A
growing number of innovative companies have embraced the concept of green design -
not just in a defensive sense, against a downpour of green regulations, but pro-actively, as
a competitive weapon in a highly eco-sensitive market. As a result, many designers are
being asked to improve the eco-efficiency of products and services by a factor of four, ten
or even 20 times.
The competition between an estimated 300 (in Europe) Cities and Regions is a
new but intense phenomenon. Investment, jobs, and prosperity have become so mobile
that old cities are competing against new ones, and new ones are competing against each
other. These cities compete through continuous investment in hard and soft aspects of
their urban infrastructures: showpiece antenna buildings, transport and information
systems, cultural buildings and infrastructures; small pieces of urban equipment. Each
city wants to be different, smarter, first. The result is a rapid growth of innovation in
urban design at all levels. The Institute keeps an eye on these broad trends, and
undertakes pilot projects with a number of Dutch cities and provincial authorities.
As well as exploring new drivers of innovation and change, the Institute strives
constantly to improve learning processes in which research, collective intelligence
workshops, and communications, interact. The New Skills theme encompasses the
constant evaluation of the Institutes own projects, and holds workshops on such themes
as knowledge management. To share its knowledge internally and externally, and to
publish results, the Institute uses face-to-face events, the Internet, the media, and its own
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publications. The Institutes website and databases are both a research programme and
communication medium, and can also be used as a shared workspace for project teams
who may be working from different places.
2.5.3 Doors of Perception
The Institute participates in an adventure by organizing workshops in which these
pioneering multidisciplinary companies meet to exchange experiences. These encounters
have proven to be so rich and stimulating that the Institute will shortly launch an
interaction design publishing programme in which the latest ideas, projects, research,
tools and business issues will be explained and discussed for an international audience.
Each year, in the Institutes celebrated annual conference and flagship public event,
Doors of Perception, dealing with issues relating to the new technologies are explored.
The conference attracts 800-1,000 people to Amsterdam from all over the world, and
generates widespread coverage in mainstream newspapers and magazines. Doors of
Perception brings together scientists, artists, business people, designers, and policy
makers. Each year speakers are confronted with a theme, and asked to react. Since 1993,
four Doors have been opened upon four different themes: Doors 1 asked what is this
stuff? and what is it for?; Doors 2 centred on the theme of home; while Doors 3
explored the relationship between environmental sustainability and information
technology. The event, in which two very different communities came together, became
known as info-eco; Doors 4 developed the info-eco theme by focusing on speed. In
1998, the fifth Doors of Perception conference covered the theme of Play, spanning
learning, play, and work in the context of the changed world.
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2.6 Case Study Conclusions
Within the diversities of location and context that characterize the institutes of
design studied, it is possible to extract certain positive features and drawbacks. A critical
reassessment of the Bauhaus pedagogy, principles and ideology, through subsequent
analysis and synthesis of written and visual production of the Bauhaus masters and
students reveals a closed, isolated approach to design, limiting it to the domain of the
designer. During the inter-war years the Bauhaus movement attempted to knit the design
process into a totalized, coherent whole. That is, designers were expected to balance all
the considerations that came to bear upon the design of particular projects. In this way,
design quickly evolved into a closed activity - an activity in which all but the designers
themselves had little if any valid input on questions of materials, taste . . . and so on.
Designers came to exist within a social bubble, consulting no one but other designers.
The Bauhaus was successful in facilitating large-scale economic production by co
operating with the industry. However, a lack of initiative in integrating other groups such
as the public/user groups in design activities is apparent. In this sense, the Bauhaus was
not porous to ideas from outside other than its designers.
A study of more contemporary institutes of design such as the Institute of Design
(ID), Illinois, the Design Institute of Australia (DIA), Melbourne, the Institute of Design
Research and Outreach (IDRO), Iowa and the Netherlands Design Institute, Amsterdam
elucidates the functioning, possibility and need for an institute of design. These studies
reflect the institutes respective presence, agendas, objectives and contribution to the field
of design education and awareness. Within this set of case studies it is apparent that these
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institutes have similar agendas with subtle variations ranging from an emphasis on
industrial culture to human centred design.
For the ID, the role of design education seems to be an active contribution to the
development of industrial culture. An obsession with the rationalization of the design
process is apparent in its methodology discussed below. ID uses this methodology in the
application of design of semiotics, cybernetics, information theory and operations
research which can be broadly categorized under an artificial intelligence design
process. IDs research initiatives are relevant in understanding users increasingly
complex lives, in order to develop innovative and humane products and business
concepts. As such, the institute favours a socially oriented collaborative approach based
on a scientific design-conception. The DIA is inclusive in engaging all possible,
categories of design professionals with industrial and government organizations; however
the institutions pursuits in engaging the user group and the public are not clear in its
mandate or programs. As national institutes of design, the Design Institute of Australia
and the Netherlands Design Institute promote the value of design but do not seem to
exhibit a specific Australian or Dutch character. Another observation is that support
from the government, public sector, industry and professional sectors is essential in
promoting national awareness in design.
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3 POROSITY
The question stated in the Introduction chapter is thus: Is it possible for the
Canadian Institute of Design to be a social space, to promote design awareness,
democratic participation and exhibit a national character, all at the same time? This
suggests the need for the Canadian Institute of design to be a venue where many groups
participate and several perspectives meet. The groups that participate together - users,
students, design professionals, employees, production engineers, industrialists and
government officials - constitute the design community because they are involved,
related and affected by the design process and its products. The architectural implications
for this denotes a system of social spaces that is porous to the flow of ideas and opinion.
It connotes intermingling, dialogue and participation.
Porous space is social space that is physically, visually and spatially porous. 1It
allows the permeation and mediation of ideas. It allows visual and spatial transitions.
Porosity is characterized by pores and perforations in the structure. Porous space is social
space because it is inclusive in commemorating the authority of all members of a design
community to convey their own ideas as planners and decision makers. Porous space
allows democratic participation because it is permeable and accessible to all the
participants of a collaborative, creative design process. In this sense, porosity also reflects
Canadas participatory, strong democracy. Notions of social interaction, democratic
participation and Canadian-ness co-exist in porous space.
1 Porous is generally associated with being absorbent, having holes, penetrable, permeable, pervious etc.
<http://thesaurus.reference.com>
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Social space is a component of a plethora of terminological systems, used in the
social disciplines, architecture, environment and behaviour studies etc. to name a few. In
each case it has specific meanings and overtones, but it is also consistent in its relation to
people, groups and societies and their interaction. The use of social space here, is akin
to the one defined by Henri Lefebvre. The form of social space is encounter, assembly,
simultaneity - of everything in space, everything produced either by nature or society,
either through their co-operation or through their conflicts: living beings, things, objects,
works, signs, symbols... It is hyper-complex: embracing individual entities and
peculiarities, relatively fixed points, movements, and flows and waves - interpenetration,
superimposition, conflict.2
Lefebvre suggests that until recently the view of space was based on the division
Descartes established between res cogitans and res extensia. 3 Based on Euclidean
geometry, space was formulated on the basis of extension, and thought of in terms of co
ordinates, lines and planes. As early as 1939, Lefebvre has described geometric space as
abstractive.4 He criticized the illusion of space as transparent, neutral, passive, empty,
abstract, and objectively real, as perpetuated by Euclidean geometry and Kantian ideals
of an a priori realm of consciousness.5 Instead, he defines space as active, operational,
instrumental: the role of space, as knowledge and action, in the existing mode of
production.6 He describes how social space is productive and performative. Social
space per se is at once work and product...Social space is what permits fresh actions to
2Henri Lefebvre, The Production o f Space, trans. Donald Nicholson-Smith (Oxford: Blackwell, 1994) 101.
3Rend Descartes, Meditationes de Prima Philosophia, in CEuvres Philosophiques: Tome II, 1638-1642,
(Paris: Gamier Frdres, 1967)
4Henri Lefebvre, Dialectical Materialism (London: Jonathan Cape, 1968) 122, 133.
5Lefebvre also castigates the Bauhaus tradition for producing a worldwide, homogeneous and
monotonous architecture of the state, whether capitalist or socialist, and he is equally critical of Siegfried
Giedeon for promoting a purely abstract, geometrical concept of space.
6Lefebvre, The Production o f Space, 11.
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occur, while suggesting others and prohibiting yet others... Social space implies a great
diversity of knowledge.7 Lefebvres description of social space underlines a paradigm
shift in understanding space.8It is based on the idea that space is not a passive surface,
it is active; it is not abstract, homogeneous and isotropic, but operational, productive and
performative.
Lefebvres theoretical foundation is the idea that space is more than a container
for objects. In fact, Lefebvre points out that imagining space to be a container generates
illusions of transparency and reality that provide only an elemental understanding of
space. The illusion of transparency casts a view of space as innocent and open. There is
nothing inherently complicated or hidden within space that is viewed through this
illusion. The illusion of reality, which Lefebvre also calls the illusion of natural
simplicity, fosters the idea that things in a particular space are of more substance than
the space itself. These two illusions combine to keep us from comprehending the far-
reaching nature of space. Lefebvre understands space to be multifaceted, produced and
maintained by the relations that govern the interactions of the society that exists within
the space. This definition of space as a social product looks past the illusions to discover
the multitude of ways in which such space might be configured.
3.1 Social Space as Porous Space
Lefebvres characteristics of social space resonate with those of porous space. In
drawing parallels between the two; porous space is an architectural manifestation of
social space. Both social space and porous space acknowledge the relevance of space to
7Lefebvre, The Production o f Space, 73.
8Lefebvres work is considered to be a critique of modernist capitalism. He shows how the Cartesian,
empirical view of space epitomized by Modernism has led to an impoverished understanding of the
environment.
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the complex workings of society, and the mutually constitutive relationship between the
two. Lefebvre views space as a social product. He argues that rather than space being a
priori, a vacuum waiting to be filled, it is produced through social action. In other words,
social space is produced and reproduced by the relationships that exist within the space
itself. It follows from this that every society produces a space, its own space.
Elaborating on Lefebvre, we can say that sub-societal groups that interact within the
design community manufacture spaces that are unique to the groups. The union of these
group spaces becomes the space for the society. Membership in the groups is fluid and
not mutually exclusive, causing the group spaces to overlay one another as necessary.
Lefebvre describes this action as interpenetrating or superimposing one layer of
space upon or into another.9 Similarly, porous space is produced by the relationships
between the participating members of the design community. Porosity enables the
inhabitants of the institute of design to move, participate, learn, and contribute without
breaking the continuity, inter-connectedness and links between porous spaces. Social
space and porous space weave together the network of associations of the physical and
social fabric.
For Lefebvre (social) space is not a passive, abstract, homogeneous and isotropic
container of objects, but active, operational, productive and performative. Likewise
porous space is not merely porous in an abstract sense. It is porous to ideas, to physical,
visual and spatial links, to democratic participation, interaction and dialogue. Porous
space is active, operational, productive and multifaceted as it integrates notions of social
interaction, democratic participation and Canadian-ness.
9Lefebvre, The Production o f Space, 86.
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According to Lefebvre, (Social) space is not a thing among other things, nor a
product among other products: rather, it subsumes things produced, and encompasses
their interrelationships in their coexistence and simultaneity their (relative) order and/or
(relative) disorder. It is the outcome of a sequence and set of operations, and thus cannot
be reduced to the rank of simple object....10 In porous space, participation and
interaction outlines situations in which thinking (through participation) involves the flow
of thoughts and their arrest as well. Plausibly, a flow of creative ideas can arise from the
tension of coexistence and simultaneity achieved by means of visual and physical
mediation through porous space.
What happens in space lends a miraculous quality to thought, which becomes
incarnate by means of a design. The design serves as a mediator - itself of great fidelity -
between mental activity (invention) and a social activity (realization); and it is deployed
in space.11 Porous space implies a socially responsive environment where social
interaction leads to creative ideas and their manifestation in design. To describe such an
environment laden with creative thought and productivity; Walter Benjamin in
Illuminations states a situation, Where thinking suddenly stops in a configuration
pregnant with tension...12
In The Space of Architects, Lefebvre seeks to understand the nature of designed
space in terms of its social organization and impact, in relation to the intentions of those
who create it. Lefebvre argues that one can conceive of a primacy o f ... semi-public,
10Lefebvre, The Production o f Space, 73.
11Lefebvre, The Production o f Space, 27-28.
12Walter Benjamin, Illuminations, Introduction by H. Arendt, trans. H. Zohn (New York: Schocken,
1969)265.
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I
semi-private spaces. This would lead to a diversification of space, and the importance
placed on functional division would disappear; functional division being the means by
which the present system maintains control over its component parts (people). This,
Lefebvre suggests would mean, Places would be fixed, semi-fixed, movable or vacant
with regard to their function. This implies a level of flexibility whereby functional
division is dispersed. Following the assumption that all human relationships may be
spatial, in other words that all social relationships manifest themselves in space, one
could argue that porous space can simultaneously be private and public in manifestation.
One can even argue that porous space is social space which enables and demands daily
negotiations of the boundaries between private and public. Enclosed space constitutes a
boundary vis-a-vis Nature, people or various kinds of activities. Enclosures modulate
spatial relationships; some could be intentional, others reflect hopes, expectations and
tensions in the light of social interaction. Relations are reinforced or weakened by the
characteristics of enclosure and environment. (Fig. 3.1 - 3.2)
Porous space also conveys a shift in focus from things to experiences.
Phenomenology of engagement is at the root of interactivity; this results in a shift of
design values from, objects to experiences, from performances to appropriateness, from
procedure to process, and from intent to behaviour. Placement, visual and spatial links,
lighting, auditory climate all affect the degree to which a space is perceived as something
shared, the degree to which it indicates social cohesion or perhaps no more than shared
space.
13See Henri Lefebvre, The Space of Architects, in The Production of Space, trans. Donald Nicholson-
Smith (Oxford: Blackwell, 1994).
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3.2 Porous space and Canadian democracy
Porous space demands the production and deployment of a heterogeneous
discourse, one that allows democratic participation and makes use of multiple modes of
address. Porosity as an inclusive social concept emphasizes the empowerment of all
members of a design community to directly govern their own ideas as independent
planners and decision makers. It reflects the needs of changing societies where the
heterogeneity of multiple voices categorizing professionals, private enterprises,
government officials, students and the public user group participate to be an integral
member of the design community.
There is a strong parallel between democratic participation in porous space and
Canadas participatory and deliberative strong democracy. As George Parkin Grant
explains, The essential principle around which Canada has been established is embodied
in the age-old struggle in human society as to how free each individual can be and yet
live in an ordered society where that freedom is not so abused that it infringes on the
freedom of others. Where does freedom for one person to do what he likes mean lack of
freedom for other people? This conflict, so continuous in human life, can be expressed in
many ways: the relation of the one to the many, of freedom to authority, of liberty to
order... Our democracy must consciously stimulate the equality of participation in mind,
in ways that it has never dreamed of in the past. When leisure is open to all, then
education must be open to all. To overcome the impersonality of the mass society, new
relationships in work and leisure must be developed and lived out; indeed, new
relationships at every level of existence ...14
14See George Parkin Grant, The George Grant Reader, ed. W. Christian & S. Grant, (Toronto: University
of Toronto Press, 1986)58-49.
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Discussions confined within schools of design, industry offices and some
professional firms can be lively. Both goals and objects of criticism are described and
analyzed with a high degree of seriousness and accuracy, often in pictures, words, charts
etc. But when a project is presented formally, the initial drawings and details are deleted,
along with whatever doubts and criticisms may have been voiced. For fear that the
overall principles may seem too simple, hasty or mere products of chance they are
elaborated and embellished with the buzz words of the day (this may not be a standard
case). Any words of homage to the work of others are suppressed; no one wishes to seem
lacking in originality. As a result of this process of self-censorship no cross-pollination or
interchange takes place. This limits further elaboration or refinement and creativity.
In relation to the design community, a researchers knowledge, the expertise of
architects, engineers, industrialists, the ideas of user groups etc. and the experience of
professionals can cross-pollinate through democratic participation. Collaborative design
can contribute to teamwork, a sense of community and an individuals ability to exert
influence, so that the process of design acquires a democratic perspective. I think it is
interesting and convincing to combine high-level cultural research and practical
experience within the same space. There lies within this an enormous potential, because
the level of cultural discussion can be high without falling into the exotic or into a
discourse disconnected from practice which unfortunately takes place all too often.15
Proponents of collaborative learning claim that the active exchange of ideas within
groups not only amplifies interest among the participants but also advances critical
thinking. In terms of education, shared learning gives students an opportunity to engage
in discussion, take responsibility for their own learning, and thus become critical
15Kenneth Frampton, Education (One day Conference on Education, Berlage Institute, 11 May 1993).
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thinkers.16This process is beneficial for all groups involved in the design process. As an
example, architects are skilled at leading public participation and to shape projects that
reflect the best of what communities hope to become. While architects learn from citizens
about their needs, priorities, and ideas for a range of uses; the public learns about the
design process and are able to build civic ownership in a project they help shape. The
municipal government gains public awareness and appreciation for projects that will be
valued and well-used. Similarly professional, industry and government groups benefit
from the process.
3.3 Public Participation
Porous space encourages casual movement, chance encounters and meetings, to
promote public participation in creative learning. In relation to the design community,
this provides an insight into the system and imbibes a sense of being part of the design
process. The success of any public initiative depends largely on community support. A
well thought out approach to public involvement can have positive effects on both the
reception and success of these projects. Involving the public in every step of a project is a
valuable action, often underestimated by earnest design and industry professionals, city
leaders, eager developers as they focus on a vision for their community. Well-defined
explanations of the issues allow the public to make intelligent, informed choices. A
coordinated effort of public involvement is the best way to build the consensus necessary
to give voice to informed supporters, leading toward a positive outcome.
Public involvement needs to take place from the beginning of a project and then
progress through the various stages of the process. The design communitys approach to
16S. Totten, T. Sills, A. Digby & Russ, Cooperative learning: A guide to research (New York: Garland,
1991).
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creating a successful Public Involvement plan would be to communicate, listen and
respond. The Institute would listen, through the medium of public meetings, to the people
who are affected by the project. Enabling the public to express their opinions encourages
them to become stakeholders in the success of the project. Public Information open
houses are more successful than public presentations since people can have their
questions answered personally. These events focus on individual interactions, and allow
issues to be addressed and ideas to be directed in more productive ways.
The effort to create consensus can inspire higher levels of design that capture the
imagination of group participants and bring them together around a common vision.
Synthesis does not mean compromise. It means rallying a group around a concept that
encompasses the potential of a project in a manner that will produce an extraordinary
result. Communities are effective partners if design professionals are willing to rise to the
occasion by listening well, communicating effectively, thinking quickly and maintaining
patience and resolve. Working with a community involves a balance between freedom
and responsibility, between opportunity and constraint. Public response to concepts and
consensus can be formed more easily around values and precepts than around details.
Community-oriented design projects bring unique demands but they also present
special opportunities for exceptional design. These projects involve working hand-in-
hand with groups to help them envision the mission of their institutions. The job is at
once enormously rewarding and remarkably trying. The process engages many people
and lots of different agendas. It tests the ability of the designer to fulfill many roles
simultaneously and requires the skills of a facilitator, psychologist, artist and technician.
In fact, the complex issues that community groups bring to the table are the source of
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content for meaningful design. The process of dealing with the community forces the
designer to confront the real substance of cultural projects and provides the opportunity
to synthesize conflicting needs and aspirations.
It is true that a group conscience can be created around a set of abstract design
parameters. People in-experienced in the theory or language of design can comprehend
the most complex and subtle of ideas - if these ideas are presented clearly and established
in response to the true nature of the community, the program and the context. The Design
group needs to establish a common set of goals at the outset of the project and keep these
goals in front of the public group as, together; they make better decisions about the
project. Evaluated on their own merits, collaborative design decisions are often hard to
make. Evaluated in relation to the big picture for the project, there is a rationale for
making these decisions.
3.4 An Environment Conducive to Creativity
Creativity is clearly an important factor for the design community. Creativity
includes the generation of ideas, alternatives, and possibilities.17Creativity provides the
intellectual resources for design - ideas, concepts, insights, and discovery - that
eventually become new and innovative theories, approaches, tools, products, and
services. Creative, knowledgeable work is today, and in the foreseeable future, the critical
resource for public, commercial, industrial and institutional enterprises in Canada, not
raw material, machines or money. For firms in all sectors, whether they are in the arts,
services, traditional manufacturing, or high-tech, competitive success depends
increasingly on their ability to tap into and unleash the creative ideas of their workforce.
17Gerald F. Smith, Idea-Generation Techniques: A Formulary of Active Ingredients, Journal of Creative
Behavior 32 (1998): 133-107.
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Design constitutes one of the most important manifestations of the creative process.18
Porous space activates creative and innovative forces that arise from the free flow of
communications and interactions among diverse members of the design community.19
Creative power and inventiveness are stimulated by several phenomena. One
extreme is unfortunate circumstances; when confronted by difficulties we are forced to
seek a solution. The other possibility is social stimuli and insight into new fields of
knowledge. Research on creativity has shown that spatial factors influence
communications and the nature of interactions in social environments.20 The overall
pattern of space in building interiors affects patterns of useful interactions between
members.21 Spatial patterns affect movement patterns, and movement patterns influence
how frequently people come in contact with one another. Further, the permeability of
boundaries and the degree of openness in porous space affect the potential for contact that
precedes many interactions. A degree of enclosure, on the other hand, aids privacy,
mutual disclosure, and development of trust, which in turn all aid the free sharing of
information and creativity.
Porous space allows social encounters...plentiful opportunities for unplanned
meetings between people and knowledge in new unexpected combinations. Unplanned
meetings require informal meeting places, and a favourable climate for communication.
Porous space provides environments and enclosures for actual human communication,
18Meric S. Gertler and Tara Vinodrai, Designing the Economy: A Profile of Ontarios Design
Workforce, D1AC Report, (2004): 50-1, http://www.dx.org/diac/pdfs/DesigningTheEconomy.pdf.
19Habermas has argued that human social interaction, communication, and language, work and labour form
the basis for human creativity. See Jilrgen Habermas, Moral Consciousness and Communicative Action,
(Cambridge: MIT Press, 1991).
20A. Penn, J. Desyllas, and J. Vaughan, The Space of Innovation: Interaction and Communication in the
Work Environment, Environmental and Planning B: Planning and Design 26 (1999): 218-193.
21Bill Hillier, and Alan Penn, Visible Colleges: Structure and Randomness in the Place of Discovery,
Science in Context 4 (1991): 49-23.
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which telephones, mass media and other means of communication cannot replace. In a
manner of classifying, there are private spaces, semi-private, public and semi-public
spaces. Each space provides different conditions for human communication, and thereby
different possibilities for creative encounters. Public and semi public spaces are of special
importance for spontaneous, unexpected and creative meetings. So, besides difference
and heterogeneity, the organization and formation of a system of porous spaces influence
creativity. The designed creative climate must however be accentuated with new social
codes as well as methods for working and managing work which encourage creativity.
3.5 Raising Standards for Quality
The objective of architectural training must ultimately be to nurture the growth
of the students own sense of what constitutes quality, so that they may become aware of
who they are, where they stand, what they have to say and which formal means are the
most appropriate in their specific cases. To design means to think...Our time,
characterized by instability, rapid change, pressure and stress, asks for a continuous
revision of tasks, forces us to look for new formulations of that task in terms of spatial
mechanisms and paradigms.22
To ensure good quality products through a creative design process, it is important
that a fully funded, multi-disciplinary design team is in place very early in a project
venture. Experience has shown that time spent in the early stages of a project - time spent
gaining a thorough understanding of the character, context, viability and suitability of
product to be designed - has paid off in the later stages of the development process. It is
also essential that all members working in the development program for this background
22Herman Hertzberger, Do architects have any idea of what they draw? Berlage Cahiers 1 (1992).
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research and analysis gets an understanding and involvement in the larger part of the
creative process as whole. The design team must be tailored for each project and should
include the full range of skills and specialist expertise needed to carry out the project.
Collaboration brings added value to the design team, especially when involved in stages.
As such the design process should promote productivity and quality (in design).
Research has confirmed that good quality design adds value by increasing the
economic viability of development and by delivering social and environmental benefits.
Occupants and owners benefit from better performance, loyalty, health and satisfaction
and from the increased prestige that well-designed developments command with guests
and clients. Designers benefit because good design is crucially dependent on their input.
Investors and funding agents benefit through favourable returns on their investments and
through satisfying occupant demand. Developers benefit by attracting investors and pre-
lets more easily and hence from better company image. If they retain a stake in their
developments for long enough, they also benefit from good returns on their investments.
Everyday users and society as a whole benefit from the economic advantages of
successful regeneration, including new and retained jobs, and also through access to a
better quality environment and an enhanced range of amenities and facilities. Public
authorities benefit by meeting their obligation to deliver a well-designed, economically
and socially viable environment and often by ripple effects to adjoining areas.
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Figure 3.1 Collages exploring Porosity
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Figure 3.2 Models exploring Porosity
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4 DESIGN IN CANADA
4.1 A Brief History
A concise history of design and public participation in Canada is important in
order to appreciate the relevance of porous space and democratic participation in the
Canadian Institute of Design. This survey1helps to situate the issues of national design
awareness, education, porosity and democratic participation, discussed in this thesis, in a
broader framework of the history of Canadian Design. With the advent of modernism, in
the early 1900s, some modernist pioneers brought their European training to Canada,
while others studied with transplanted Europeans at institutions like Harvard University
and Chicagos Institute of Design. In Canada, basic characteristics of modem design such
as functional arrangement of forms, technological innovation, and a manufacturing-based
construction industry became apparent. Many Skyscrapers such as the Electric Chambers
(1913) in Winnipeg and the Birks Building (1912-1913) in Vancouver were based on the
ideas of Chicago School architects.2 These buildings were designed with underlying steel
framework through narrow piers between windows on the exterior. Use of modem
materials such as steel and concrete is evident in the Quebec Bridge (1900-1917) and
huge grain elevators. Use of modem pre fabricated parts is noticeable in banks built with
prefabricated parts in several western prairie towns in Canada. Mail-order houses
supplied building parts for houses and commercial buildings in all parts of Canada,
especially in the rapidly developing west.
1For architectural attributes discussed in the survey see Kelly Crossman, Canadian Architecture,
Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia (2005) <http://encarta.msn.com>.
2See Harold Kalman, A History o f Canadian Architecture, (Toronto and New York: Oxford University
Press, 1994).
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Features of modem design such as simple, reductive quality and lack of
ornamentation appear in the work of Toronto architect Eden Smith. Smiths Saint
Thomass Church (1896) in Toronto resembles a Gothic parish church, built of brick,
stone, and polished wood, devoid of ornamentation. Another of his projects, the Studio
Building (1913) in Toronto takes on industrial aesthetics with large, factory-type
windows punctured into brick walls. Taught by American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright,
Francis Sullivan, designed houses in Ottawa such as the E. P. Connors House (1914-
1915) that reflects Wrights influence. Samuel Maclure designed houses, such as the
Biggerstaff-Wilson House (1905-1906) in Victoria. The house was incorporated into
rough landscapes and built with natural materials.
Art deco, a sleek, geometrical style, influenced skyscrapers in Canada as
elsewhere in Europe and America. The Aldred Building (1929-1931) in Montreal by E.
I. Barrott and the Marine Building (1929-1930) in Vancouver by McCarter and Naime
exhibit Art deco influence. Another example is the Toronto Stock Exchange (1936-1937)
by George and Moorhouse with S. H. Maw that has a flat facade holding a series of tall,
slender windows. In Montreal, architect Ernest Cormiers designed his house (1930) in
the art deco style.4
Since the 1930s craft revival, many artisans have played a role in Canadian
design. Choosing to standardize their process of production, either by hand or with the
help of tools, craft makers made hundreds, sometimes thousands, of pieces. However,
these designers privileged artistic expression over mass production. Within Canadian
3See William Bernstein & Ruth Cawker, Contemporary Canadian Architecture: The Mainstream and
Beyond (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, and London: Academy Editions, 1982). This book includes important
projects from the post-Expo 67 era in Canadian architecture.
See Peter Morley Ennals and Deryck William Holdsworth, Homeplace: The Making of the Canadian
Dwelling over Three Centuries, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998).
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industry, a separate trend arose, that of the, studio manufacturer, a designer who
established a fabrication studio to offer small-scale production. As such, Canada has had
a long legacy in studio manufacturing and a reputation for creating limited production
designs with panache. The Belgian monk Dom Paul Bellot, who came to Canada in the
mid-1930s designed the dome and the massive concrete vaults of Saint Josephs Oratory
(1937) in Montreal merging old forms and new engineering techniques. His design for
this building for Roman Catholic worship takes on a modem interpretation of
Romanesque and Gothic architecture.
During 1930s the streamlined aspect of industrial design, is evident in the design
of commercial buildings and movie theatres such as the Varscona Theatre in Edmonton,
Alberta by Rule, Wynn and Rule. Bank interiors designed by Beaux-Arts architect John
Lyle such as his Bank of Nova Scotia (1929) in Calgary, takes on a simple, modem
version of classical architecture. Seaplane hangers (1928) in Montreal, with thin concrete
shells in the exterior, and the Supreme Court of Canada (1938-1946) in Ottawa displays
architect, Cormiers skills in dealing with high-tech structures as well as traditional
materials. Cormiers Universite de Montreal (1924-1950) is a symmetrical building with
right-angled wings around a central tower.
World War II (1939-1945) curtailed most building activity in Canada not related
to the war effort. After the war, a new design consciousness emerged in Canada. Both the
media and the public recognized good design as a necessary and positive development,
and the profession was legitimized via professional associations and educational
initiatives. Designers took on a myriad of roles that crossed disciplines like design,
engineering, production, and even marketing, engaging in unprecedented collaborations.
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The designers exploration of the materials while balancing the diverse conditions set by
artistic, technical and economic concerns resulted in innovative designs, a process that
continues to this day. After the war, leading designers turned to functionalism and the
International Style. The International Style is noticeable in the Vancouver Vocational
Institute (1948-1949) by Sharp & Thompson, Berwick, Pratt; the Elizabeth Dafoe Library
(1950) in Winnipeg by Green, Blankstein and Russell; and the National Printing Bureaus
plant (1949-1957) in Hull by Cormier.
By the sixties, sophisticated, design-training programs were established in
Canada, allowing a generation of designers to study at home.5 Around 1953, the
persistent quality of mainstream modernism led some Canadian architects, to opt for a
regionally based architecture that reflected local conditions and use of local materials.
The B. C. Electric Building (1955-1957) in Vancouver by Thompson, Berwick and Pratt
and the works of Ron Thom reflect a regionalist sensibility, sensitive to the buildings
site. Thoms buildings for Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario, take into
consideration the topography of the land. Arthur Ericksons Museum of Anthropology
(1973-1976) in Vancouver incorporates post-and-beam forms of west coast Kwakiutl
villages.
The Montreal International Exposition in 1967 (Expo 67), included a huge
geodesic dome of interconnected metal parts that formed the American pavilion designed
by American R. Buckminster Fuller. A prefabricated housing project of concrete
modules, known as Habitat 67 was designed by Israeli-born Moshe Safdie. A tentlike
German pavilion covered in fabric; and other large-scale exhibition structures. Montreal
5See Rachel Gotlieb and Cora Golden, Design in Canada: Fifty Years from Teakettles to Task Chairs
(Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf Canada and The Design Exchange, 2001).
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itself was shaped for Expo 67 with the construction of a subway system with several
station outlets and large downtown complexes linked underground.
By 1970 architects in Canada and elsewhere had begun to search for options
moving away from modernism. The eighties are often referred to as the Designer Decade.
During these flourishing times, postmodernism established itself as the dominant
expression for design discourse. The American architects Robert Venturi and Denise
Scott Brown argued that rational problem solving failed to incorporate meaning and
metaphor in design. In an exhibition in 1988, the MOMA established deconstructivism6
as a movement, presenting the architecture of Frank Gehry, Daniel Libeskind and others.
The impact of deconstructivism was minimal in Canada. Examples include CBC
Broadcast Centre in Toronto, by Philip Johnson and John Burgee and Raymond
Moriyamas Bata shoe museum, to a lesser degree. Robert Venturis architecture
accommodates historical references, ornament, and popular culture. Venturis approach,
more commonly led to the insurgence of postmodernism.7
As an awareness of the need to protect historic neighbourhoods developed, new
approaches emerged in design. A. J. Diamond and Donald Schmitt Architects of Toronto
designed user-friendly spaces using brick and stone, such as the Earth Sciences Centre
(1989) at the University of Toronto. Jones and Kirkland designed a modernized version
of a Greek temple facade in Mississauga City Hall (1982) in suburban Toronto. In
Montreal, architects Peter Rose and Phyllis Lambert, in association with Erol Argun,
designed the Canadian Centre for Architecture (1985-1989), a museum and study centre,
6 Deconstructivism in architecture draws its philosophical bases from the literary movement
Deconstruction developed in part by the French post-structuralist philosopher Jacques Derrida.
7Robert Venturi, Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture (New York: Museum of Modem Art,
2002).
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built of local materials and enclosed around a historic monument, the Shaughnessy House
of 1874.
Recently design in Canada expresses the search for a certain degree of Canadian-
ness, receptive to urban conditions.8 East coast architect Brian McKay Lyons designs
reflect the common sheds, bams, and dwellings prevalent in Nova Scotia. With the
insurgence of an era of pluralism and homogeneity, designers have embraced local
traditions and materials with a critical understanding of the vernacular or region, to
develop new forms and imagery. Patkau Architects incorporated these ideas in their
Seabird Island Band School (1990-1991) in Agassiz, British Columbia. The architects
design with complex and unusual spaces and shapes that respond to human needs, paid
homage to the animal-lore tradition of the island community.9 Saucier & Perotte designed
an archive and viewing space for film and video, the Cinematheque Quebecoise (1997),
in Montreal, in which the spectator encounters images in motion at every turn. Teeple
Architects Inc. of Toronto made use a wide palette of textures: stone, wood, steel and
incorporated elements of light, water, and landscape in their design for the York
University Welcome Centre (2000).
4.2 Public Participation in Canada
In view of the Canadian Institute of Designs policy of collaborative approach and
democratic participation, a study of trends in public participation in Canada is important.
A survey of the current status and trends in public participation across Canada indicates
8According to Roger L. Martin, Dean of Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, It is
imperative that Canadian firms and governments turn their backs on a culture of replication and instead
embrace innovation, uniqueness and differentiation. Arlene Gould and Paola Poletto, Design Matters:
DIAC Design Industry Study, DIAC Report, (2004): 20,
http://www.dx.org/diac/pdfs/DIACFinalReport.pdf.
9Seabird Island School: Patkau Architects Inc., The Governor Generals Awards for Architecture 1992,
The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (1992): 63-58.
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that the field, while it is at various levels in different provinces, sectors and industries, is
becoming more accepted as an essential part of policy, program and project
development.10Public participation in Canada can be traced back to the late 1920s and
early 1930s when impoverished farmers and fishermen in rural Nova Scotia educated
themselves about community economic development.
After World War II boom-time development, the discovery of the environment by
the public and the advent of participatory democracy led to a significant expansion of
public involvement, on major projects. In the 70s, public participation was embraced
first by the transportation and electric power industries and in planning and managing
airports by Transport Canada. Later it was adopted in waste management in selecting
landfill sites. Next the mining, gas and oil industries saw the light, with most applications
in Alberta and British Columbia. In the 80s, the forest industry also took up public
participation. Early reliance on formal hearings and public meetings at the end of a
planning process led to a wider range of interactive techniques used earlier in the
planning and decision-making sequence. Now, in the 90s, more managers and decision
makers recognize the interaction of economic, environmental and social factors. The
number and nature of groups wanting access to public-issues planning and decision
making is exploding. If public participation practitioners become involved in this new
opportunity to take part in major decisions, they may also secure the future of the field
and their place in it as Canada commences a new period of participatory democracy.11
10See Exploring Canadian Values, Canadian Policy Research Network, Ottawa, 1995.
11Also see Desmond M. Connor, A Generic Design for Public Involvement Programs, in Constructive
Citizen Participation: A Resource Book, 5th ed. (Victoria: Development Press, 1994).
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5 SITE AND CONTEXT
The proposed site for the project (Canadian Institute of design) is to the east of the
National War Museum. The site located in the heart of downtown Ottawa on LeBreton
Flats, will allow the Canadian Institute of design to be a central part of the new vision for
Canadas Capital. Located adjacent to many of the National Capitals other tourist
attractions, the zone will play a vital role in attracting a great number of tourists and
visitors to the Capital region area. The National Capital Commission foresees LeBreton
Flats as the site of nationally important institutions - cultural and governmental - and as
a dynamic community where people can live, work and play just minutes from the
Parliament Buildings.1 NCCs vision for a dynamic community and the Canadian
Institute of designs need for democratic participation follows that the design should take
into consideration its relationship with surrounding buildings around the site. The design
also needs to consolidate the relationship between the institute and streets, squares, parks
and the canal by creating pedestrian links, cycling tracks and vehicular access that form a
network connecting the neighbourhood. Consequently, a study of the site and
surrounding context is important in generating porosity and democratic participation at
the urban level. (Fig. 5.1, 5.2)
5.1 Connections and Links
The site has two faces: one tied to the city as a collective, the other, nationalistic.
Immediately south of the Canadian Institute of Design and the Canadian War Museum
will be the Public Commons, a community and festival park with a Parade Square for
1National Capital Commission,
<http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/corporate/plan_reg/tomorrows_plans/lebreton_flats_e.asp>
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Figure 5.1 Site Location
^ 5 2 2 2
' Vt*Jt MUSEUM
Figure 5.2 Site Map
The numbered areas are undergoing construction as per NCC plans.
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nYtni
Figure 5.3 Capital Core area
The proximity of the site to important federal political, cultural and administrative institutions;
this area creates a special sense of place and identity for Canadas Capital. It serves as the main
stage for communicating Canadian culture and history, and hosting national events, ceremonies
and celebrations.
Figure 5.4 LeBreton Flats
NCC proposal for LeBreton Flats
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civic congregation and celebration. Further south will be high-density residential and
commercial developments as per National Capital Commission plans. To the east, the site
has strong visual links to the city and the seat of Canadian democracy, the Parliamentary
Precinct with our national landmark, the Peace Tower. To the west are the upstream reach
of the Ottawa River and a picturesque panorama of sunsets. To the north are views of the
Albert and Amelia Islands, Chaudieres Falls, the Domtar industrial site, and beyond to
Gatineau and Quebec. (Fig. 5.3 - 5.6)
Close to the Institute, is the National War Museum, designed by the architectural
team of Moriyama & Teshima Architects of Toronto and Griffiths Rankin Cook of
Ottawa. Dedicated to the education, preservation and remembrance of Canadas military
history, the museum emphasizes the role that military events have played in history. The
theme of the architectural design is regeneration. In the words of the lead architect,
Raymond Moriyama, Nature may be ravished by human act of war, but inevitably it
hybridizes, regenerates and prevails. This museum is a tribute to our military past and a
salute to the freedom and democracy that has resulted from the sacrifices of the men and
women who have served this country. The War museum lies on an extension of the
Confederation Boulevard and connected by it to the National War Memorial.
The roof of the war museum is a pedestrian walkway, allowing visitors to
experience some of the Museums multiple layers of meaning. The view towards
Canadas Peace Tower on Parliament Hill is framed by the roofs twin copper peaks and
is of primary importance to the architectures Tine of sight. The Canadian institute of
design addresses this line of sight by opening up framed views of the Peace tower and the
Parliamentary Precinct. These framed views are visible from the terrace of War museum
2 Information obtained from <http://warmuseum.ca/cwm/new/ca_arche.html>
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through the Institute of Design aligned along the line of sight. The Peace Tower and
Parliamentary Precinct can also be viewed from accessible terraces in the Institute of
Design. The wall and roof of the Institute extends at angles to emphasize the view
corridor linking the museum to the Peace Tower and beyond. By creating visual links the
Institute forms a connection with its surroundings. (Fig. 5.7- 5.9)
The National Capital Commission is planning a Riverside Promenade along the
waters edge as a flexible outdoor space for walking, roller-blading and cycling. The
future development of LeBreton Flats will strengthen these qualities. The Institute of
Design has strong pedestrian links and cycling routes that connect to the Public
Commons, Le Breton Flats and the water edge. These pedestrian links move around the
Institute to address porosity and public accessibility. The institute has a main circulation
ramp or pathway at its core that axially refers to the national capital core to the east and
the city to the south.
5.2 LeBreton Flats
LeBreton Flats is a valuable expanse of undeveloped land in the National Capital
core. It is a riverside space of some 65 hectares situated just west of Ottawas downtown.
LeBreton Flats is named after John LeBreton, a native of the Channel Islands and a
Captain in the British army. He is said to have canoed on the Rideau River, then travelled
by horseback from Kingston to Brockville, Ontario, where he met a prominent lawyer
and judge, Levius P. Sherwood. Together, they purchased lot 40, the site now known as
LeBreton Flats.
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5.2.1 Options for LeBreton Flats
LeBreton Flats has seen several grand visions, thanks to urban planners from
three levels of government. But what if the NCC, the region and the city had not spent all
those years struggling over jurisdiction and writing up the future of LeBreton Flats in
fancy reports? Phil Jenkins, writer and musician, figures he knows the answer. Left on its
own, he says, LeBreton Flats might have became Ottawas artist colony - like Gas town
in Vancouver, or Torontos Cabbage town. It could have become a place where the artist
tribe got together in cafes and bars to argue among themselves.3
An Acre of Time by Phil Jenkins, is about the history of an acre of land near the
Ottawa River i.e. Le Breton Flats, from the first settlements to present-day bureaucracy.
Describing the history of Le Breton, Jenkins story looks at a community, as an evolving
entity; a coming together of place and people over time, and the process by which man
alters the place he inhabits. Ive come here to unearth a story, a rolling tale of lava and
glaciers, of tropical seas and waterfalls, of whales and white-tailed deer, of Indians and
pioneers, millionaires and paupers, firestorms and bulldozers, railways and lumber mills,
facts and gossip. Its the story, the biography, of the field beneath my feet. 4
According to Phil Jenkins, And if a poet from Somalia or Sarejevo came here,
thats where he would have gone to live. At one time, LeBreton Flats was an industrial
area. It was the place in Ottawa where things were made, he says, similar to Sheffield
Road in the citys east end today. That meant an abundance of lofts that could have been
converted into artists' studios with plenty of space and cheap rents. Think of the
atmosphere in such a place. Imagine a neighbourhood in which intellectual ferment was
3Gator Dawg, A Civic Gadfly Looks at What LeBreton Might Have Been, Ottawa Citizen, June 16,
2004, Arts section.
4 Phil Jenkins, An Acre o f Time: The Enduring value o f Place, (Toronto: MacFarlane Walter & Ross, 1997).
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ooo
Figure 5.5 Bicycle and Pedestrian Pathway System
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Figure 5.6 Roads, Parking and Public Transport
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on the menu of every cafe and hangout, where wild-eyed painters and student
intellectuals talked politics and revolution over cheap wine.
Of course, thats not how things turned out. LeBreton Flats had grown shabby and
down-at-heel when the NCC expropriated it in 1962. (For context, that was the year the
Trans-Canada Highway opened, and when Marshall McLuhan published The Gutenberg
Galaxy.) The Flats was the split lip on Ottawas countenance, an embarrassment to a
capital city. Now, the new Canadian War Museum is taking shape on the site. And the
first phase of the NCCs plan for the 65-acre Flats redevelopment for a dense, mixed
community, encircled by green spaces and linked to public transit, is making slow,
irregular progress. Jenkins also envisioned LeBreton as a venue for tribal gatherings of all
kinds. When the Pope came to town, they put him there.5 And trade union protesters
formed up there for the policy march against the Mulroney government. In some sense, I
think LeBreton Flats was trying to tell us what it wanted to be. You need a place where a
city can go and think collectively, where subjective, emotional things take place. Jenkins
saw the redevelopment of LeBreton Flats as a chance to ceremonially link up Upper and
Lower Canada, by reclaiming Chaudiere Falls.
People living near LeBreton Flats put plenty of questions about the future of their
neighbourhood to officials from the National Capital Commission. Empty for decades,
LeBreton Flats is a clean slate, and the NCC is eager to start filling it in. The War
Museum is completing construction, the roads through the flats are getting changed, and
the site is in the process of being decontaminated. The NCC envisions stacked
townhouses and apartment buildings ranging from four to twelve storeys, 2,500 square
5In September, 1984, thousands gathered at LeBreton Flats to see Pope John Paul. Geoff Matthews,
Popes visit the greatest event of our lives, Ottawa Sun online, 3 April 2005, <
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/OttawaSun/News/2005/04/03/980629-sun.html>
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metres of retail space, wide sidewalks, and plenty of courtyards and green spaces.
According to NCC plans, Phase 1 would contain 800 units in all, a quarter of which must
be reserved for affordable housing.
5.2.2 Historical Perspective
LeBreton Flats lies close to the scenic Ottawa River. For thousands of years, the
River was known as the Kitchissippi (The Great River) by the first inhabitants of the
area, the Algonkian Nation. Besides providing them with the necessities of life, the river
also served as an important trade route for the many peoples that lived along its banks. In
1610, the great French explorer Samuel de Champlain sailed down this river, also
establishing the area as an important route for the growing fur trade in Europe. Soon, the
British followed, and for two centuries the main economy of the entire region survived
well on fur trade. In the early 1800s, the area became a lumber boomtown. With The War
of 1812, Colonel John By began work building a canal that would connect the Ottawa
River with the Rideau River to carry military supplies close to the American border. Most
of those who worked on the Canal stayed, living on the south side of the river in what is
now known as LeBreton Flats.
The Flats may be considered one of Canadas oldest industrial and residential
neighbourhoods. In 1900, a huge fire erupted in the community that was visible from as
far away as Kingston, Ontario. The fire, swelled by high winds and the wood
construction typical of that period, consumed the entire area and reduced it to ash and
rubble. A community of tradesmen, merchants and their families survived and shared the
Flats with industries such as sawmills and rail yards. The oils and chemicals associated
with industry that existed there, combined with the remains of the Great Fire had
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contaminated the soil. Later on, when it was decided that the area would become a new
dynamic community in the heart of the Nations capital, the presence of these
contaminants led the NCC to call for decontamination of LeBreton Flats area before any
development could proceed.
5.2.3 Recent History
The National Capital Commission acquired the land in 1962 for the construction
of new government buildings. The roadways remained under municipal and regional
ownership, and three-way negotiations about the future of LeBreton Flats caused some
delay in planning. In 1989, a partnership was forged between the NCC, the former
Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton and the City of Ottawa to come up with a
concept plan for LeBreton Flats. Throughout, the location continues to prove its value as
a site for occasional congregations, festivals and public events.
The central goal of the plan is to create a vibrant mixed-use community, which
would be linked to the downtown core. The Flats and adjacent areas would then be
connected to the cultural, institutional and natural resources within the National Capital
Region. The following characteristics formed the foundation of the plan to make the
community:
Alive (drawing people back to the centre)
Functional (serviceable systems of roads and sewers)
Connected to the rest of the National Capital Region (recreational and commuter
routes, pathways and public transportation)
Meaningful (with national institutions on beautiful riverside sites)
Green (environmentally sound and linked to the regional network of green spaces)
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Decontamination began several years ago at one of the most affected areas: the
site of the former Ottawa Paint Works (comer of Booth and Wellington streets). The
technique used was biodegradation (the use of solvent-eating bacteria).6. In 2002, the
NCC adopted more rigorous federal and provincial standards to go about the clean up of
the site and ensure that the environment would be protected during the remediation
process. Significant progress has also been made in the construction of infrastructure,
with the complete replacement of the infrastructure of Booth Street in 2004 and work
underway on other roads, a storm water management facility and a bridge at the west end
of LeBreton Flats.
5.2.4 Context
One of the important undertakings of the new vision for LeBreton Flats is to
retrieve for Canadians the picturesque waterfront sites in the nations Capital region by
developing the riverside as accessible pedestrian pathways and cycle routes. The NCC
also plans to rejuvenate the Flats by ensuring a balanced mix of residential, commercial
and institutional developments. The Canadian Institute of Design extends and links on to
these surroundings through pathways, cycle routes and riverside paths. On- and off-street
pedestrian and bicycle routes, coupled with convenient access to the Transit way, will
make the Institute a lively part of the new community, an area where people can
comfortably live, work, play and commute. It will also link the downtown core and the
city and be accessible from adjacent areas. LeBreton Flats will become an extension of
the core of the capital, while retaining its charm as a welcoming and dynamic
community. Pedestrian comfort and convenience will be key, with green space, pathways
and national symbols as a magnificent background.
6All information obtained from NCC website <http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/>
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The design of the Institute engages its surroundings actively through visual and
physical links. The importance of designing a building that engages and relates to its
surroundings is reflected in Kenneth Framptons lecture, Habitat Revisited: From Land
Form to Corporeal Space.7 In this lecture, Frampton set the concepts of Tandform and
corporeal space. Landforms, Frampton explained, are interventions conceived from the
outset as a new topography, thereby reprofiling the sense of ground through the
superimpostition of insterstitial form. This idea is neatly condensed in the German idea
of teppichhause, which Frampton explained to mean, a woven fabric that is virtually
inseparable from the configuration of the ground. For Frampton, corporeal space
accommodates the ergonomic and emotional needs of the subject, and stems from a
design process that elevates consideration of human needs over formal expression.
Framptons discussion is centered on the tactile and corporeal interior that is capable of
responding both ergonomically and poetically to the constantly changing needs of the
human subject. In conclusion to his lecture, Frampton reiterated the two basic thrusts of
his talk. "The point is obvious: this question of how the body is accommodated in the
living space is something to which we should pay greater attention. Buildings should be
anchored into the site, rendered topographically, and not just as free standing objects.
The Canadian Institute of Design situated on the northern edge of LeBreton Flats,
the new Canadian War Museum and the adjacent park known as The Common, will draw
Canadians back to the shores and waterway, where the history of the Capital began. The
Common, bordered by trees, will serve as both a festival plaza and a place where people
7Kenneth Framptons lecture Habitat Revisited: From Land Form to Corporeal Space was the keynote
address o f the Architectural Leagues 2002-2003 lecture series, Habitation. Frampton argued that
settlement must be integrated with landscape, and that interiors must be designed to respond both
ergonomically and poetically to the needs of the human body.
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can gather to relax and enjoy the views of the Ottawa River and Parliament Hill and tour
around the museum and the Institute of Design. NCC planners have sketched a broad
span of open space with a design load of 20,000 to 40,000 people in the very heart of the
development.
Narrower streets, wider landscaped sidewalks, weather protection along frontages
and seating for pedestrians will be key features of the new community. Connections to
the Aqueduct, the river, islands to the north, nearby communities and the central core will
make it simple and convenient to walk, cycle or take public transit within the immediate
zone. The new structures to be built will also incorporate a colour palette that will
complement and preserve the integrity of existing stone heritage buildings characterized
by their soft greyish tones. All new commercial/residential development will respect
human scale, and focus street-level activity. Variety in housing (i.e., types, sizes and
prices) will create a unique, socially diverse neighbourhood that will evolve into an active
and vital community.8
8Available from
<http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/corporate/plan_reg/tomorrows_plans/lebreton_flats_e.asp>
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89
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OFFICIAL PLAN -
ANNEX 6A
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Figure 5.7 LeBreton Flats View Control Planes
City of Ottawa Official Plan
Figure 5.8 War Museum Sight Line
This sight line addresses the view to the Peace tower.
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Figure 5.9 Site and War Museum Photos
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6 CANADIAN INSTITUTE OF DESIGN
6.1 Project
The Canadian Institute of Design is a collaborative, integrated learning facility. Its
agenda is to be a social space, to promote design awareness, democratic participation and
exhibit a national character at the same time. It is an independent body and receives its
core funding from government and public sectors. The Institute celebrates the
democratic, collective potential of staff, students, public, and delegates from the
profession, industry and Government, in promoting the quality of design in Canada. The
design is based on a concept of porosity. The architecture of the Institute of design is
porous in nature; porous to ideas and democratic participation, to visual and spatial
boundaries, to critical and collaborative thinking, to all members involved in the creative
design process. (Fig. 6.1 - 6.5)
Porosity implies, a natural flow between spaces, punctured facades and
perforations in the structure which allow visual and physical movement back and
through. Further, navigating through levels of porosity ranging from visual to actual
spatial transitions, getting a sense of whats happening in the Institute such as everyday
occurrences, moments and exhibits through these pores as framed views, makes it open
and inviting to public participation. At the urban level porosity induces visual and
physical links, connecting the Institute to its surroundings. Interior courts that act as
functional and visual filters for Le Breton flats are reinterpreted in the institute as interior
courts or pores. These interior pores and a network of pedestrian links and cycling routes
gather the activity and energy of the site towards the Institute. The Institutes terraces are
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Figure 6.1 Massing Models
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accessible and visually connect the war museum to the parliament buildings. The
carefully scaled building form of the Institute respects the scale of the war museum and
surrounding buildings. The fluid and porous expression provides an inviting ambience, an
appropriate national projection for the Institute that values creativity and innovation in
design, whilst welcoming and embracing the community. (Fig. 6.6 - 6.9)
6.2 Program
The Canadian Institute of design includes architecture, interior, industrial, fine
arts, textile and graphic design departments. The first level comprises of the
administrative and workshop zones in the south wing and studios, laboratories and
exhibit areas in the north wing. The second level has workshop areas in the south wing
and studios, library and faculty offices in the north wing. The north and south wings are
connected by a central circulation bridge or pathway at the first level. At the second level,
huge spans of open terraces connect the north and south wings as well as connects the
building to its surrounding by creating visual links. The building extends on to the site
through an exterior workshop space, landscaped forecourt, pedestrian pathways etc. The
third level is a cafe located in the north wing.
The administrative zone includes reception and waiting areas, administrative
offices, offices for visiting faculty and delegates from the profession, industry, and
government etc. (such as CCA, RAIC, CMHC, NCC etc.) to be rent out or provided on a
temporary basis and a lowered conference hall for collaborative meetings. The workshop
zone includes column free spans of workshop areas, workshop offices, storage space and
extends on to an exterior, open workshop space for large scale on site undertakings. The
south wing includes reception offices, studios, lecture halls, a lowered design convention
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OKStiH
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Figure 6.2 Models
Midterm: Program and space
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Figure 6.3 Exploring Porosity in Design
Midterm: Porous space
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Figure 6.4 Exploring Porosity through drawings
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Figure 6.5 Exploring Porosity through drawings: Colour
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hall, digital laboratory, classrooms, locker and storage facilities and exhibit spaces on the
first level. The design convention hall is an open multifunctional space surrounded by
studios and student activity, for diverse events. The exhibit spaces located close to the
canal form a design experience gallery in displaying thematic settings. These spaces are
geared towards contributing and promoting design awareness. Delegates from the
profession, government or industry who fund critical awareness events or co-operate with
the students and user groups to launch joint-venture projects could also use these exhibit
spaces. The south wing has a design library along with faculty offices and classrooms on
the second level. The south wing is easily accessible from parking areas in the semi
basement level.
The Institute provides parking spaces at the semi basement level in the north
wing. The north wing of the building is raised high from the ground plane in order to
capture framed views of the canal to the north of the building and to accommodate
parking below. The northeast of the site permits vehicular entry for semi basement
parking; leaving the north edge facing the canal, traffic free. It is important to keep the
north edge traffic free in consideration of the NCC plans. The southeast comer of the site
is modified into a landscaped network of pedestrian paths and open workshop space. This
forms a backdrop to create a generous square and arrival space for the main entry. (Fig.
6. 1 0 - 6. 11)
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99
M ^ B B S B S ^ S
WAR MUSEUM INSTITUTE ARCHIVES COURT PARLIAMENT
Figure 6.6 Sight Lines
Porosity at an urban level is achieved through sight lines. These sight lines dissect the Institute at angles to
create framed views that visually link surrounding buildings. The Institutes terraces are intercepted by the
form of the building, projected at angles, to offer unobstructed views along sight lines.
Figure 6.7 Sight Lines in Plan
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Figure 6.8 Site Model: Massing
Figure 6.9 Site Model: Sightlines
Sightlines move across the war museum and Institutes terraces towards the Parliament buildings.
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6.3 Architectural Elements
6.3.1 Forecourt
The southeast part of the site harbours the forecourt and connected open space,
defined and characterized through the form of the Institutes structure. This open space is
a combination of hard paved areas, lawn and soft landscaped patches that connect to the
site to its surroundings. This large paved area creates a forecourt to the ceremonial main
entry or the southeast entry. It is the site for events and welcoming ceremonies, and
provides for the erection of temporary marquees. It will also provide significant amenity
to the students and staff offering landscaped areas as well as spill spaces. Importantly
this landscaped open space creates an appropriate continuum as well as interface that
connect the building to its surroundings at ground level.
The forecourt provides an area for recreation and seating as well as continuing the
landscaped character of the Public Commons, war museum and Le Breton into the
Institute precinct. The paved areas of the open spaces and forecourt will be finished in
paving units whose size and finish are varied to create an appropriate break-up and
scaling of the surface. As parts of the building extend on to the landscape of the forecourt
there is a layering of the fabric subtly integrating into the ground. The workshop areas in
the institute extend into the landscape to form open areas for large-scale on site work. It
is designed for use as a common outdoor space for collaborative work that can be viewed
from interior workshops and terraces above. Pedestrian pathways in the forecourt and
around the building link the institute to the surrounding context, the commons park, the
museum and the residential blocks.
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6.3.2 Central Pathway
The Institute has a central pathway, conceived as circulation ramps that connects
all parts of the institute and provides three points of access from outside. The main,
ceremonial, southeast entry to the Institute addresses the Forecourt and landscaped areas
with two other secondary points of access facing Wellington street to the east and Booth
street to the west. The central pathway is axially oriented to the east towards the
parliament buildings and the national capital core, as well as to the south towards the city.
Pedestrian pathways emerging from the Public Commons, Le Breton flats and
surrounding areas meet at the Institutes points of entry and merge with the central
pathway to form a continuum allowing the porous nature of the Institute to reaches out
and engage with its surroundings. The central pathway breaks up into inner courts or
pores. This pathway forms a raised platform at its centre that visually connects all parts of
the first level.
The central pathway is an important space within the Institute, creating a sense of
arrival and orientation while providing a clear circulation path that connects the
buildings north and south wings. The central pathway is enclosed in a glass exterior with
closely spaced horizontal louvers creating a strong sense of entry and access. It draws in
natural light to the building from the south and east comers. The roof of the central
pathway is a combination of open, accessible terraces. This roof is separated from the
second level north and south wings of the superstructure and helps resolve the
intersection of the two angular geometries that form lines of sight or visual links. The
floor of the central pathway is designed as an extension of the landscaped forecourt, with
a continuity of paved finish.
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6.3.3 Inner Pores
As an expression of porosity, the Institute has several inner pores or courts in the
form of open to sky, cut outs in the building. An inner court in the south wing serves the
administrative and workshop zones in providing a common hub and access to natural
light. Two inner courts characterize the north wing connecting the studio and laboratory
spaces, providing access to semi basement parking. The building also contains cut-outs or
pores in the floor and ceiling as well as in its structure and partitions. These pores
visually and physically connect all levels and are carefully scaled to create interconnected
volumes. The pore above the design convention hall in the north wing is created through
the positioning of the overhead bridges and large glazed railings that open the vista from
deep within the building right to the cafe on the third level. Bringing light and air into the
block of the building, the inner courts or pores remain compatible with the height and
bulk of the surrounding neighbourhood.
These spaces also create semi-outdoor congregation spots. The design convention
hall is made up of a series of steps or seating areas that create an informal internal
amphitheatre at the heart of the studio spaces. The generous character of the stepped
areas, the presence of natural light from top and a direct view of the exhibit areas create a
visual continuity through various subtle levels. Finishes around the inner courts continue
with large glazed panels with occasional vertical and horizontal opaque elements to
create varied levels of porosity. Other pores include vertical circulation areas such as
elevator shafts and stairways. Porosity expressed through walls of studios and offices
allow all spaces to be supervised from multiple vantage points. The density, the surprises,
the juxtaposition of interior and exterior, and the blurring of the private and public,
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through inner pores contribute to the experience of porous space. Porosity of individual
structures reinforces their contribution to the reading of the design process as a whole,
and the relationships among them create the social and physical fabric of the Institute.
6.3.4 Social Hubs
Within the Institute, are located, several shared, social, communal spaces and
informal meeting areas, not enclosed by boundaries. These spaces or social hubs are
present in the administrative, workshop, studio and laboratory zones. As an instance,
these spaces are present around vertical circulation areas to encourage social interaction
and the exchange of ideas through chance encounters. The central pathway provides
access to all the primary teaching facilities as well as accommodating study and informal
meeting areas for the students, which also form social hubs. Due to the large numbers of
people circulating and interacting in these spaces, the presence of natural light and visual
relief are very important and hence addressed by porosity. This has been achieved
through the use of partially glazed and opaque areas; where openness is desirable the
design takes on a more porous turn and where a certain amount of enclosure is required,
the design is less porous in using reflective and translucent glazing along with opaque
elements. While reflective glazing does not reveal the enclosed space, the surface reflects
natural light and images of the surrounding areas. The design convention hall, the
conference area, workshop area, exhibit area, studio spaces, in fact most spaces within
the institute are socially oriented spaces with specific functions, but the social hubs are
communal spaces with no other specific utilitarian function other than congregation,
social interaction and dialogue.
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6.3.5 Terraces
The orientation of the National War Museum is characterized by its axial
reference to the Peace Tower. The design of the Institute draws direct reference from this
and works on strengthening this connection. The central pathway is topped by open
terraces on the second level, which allow this axis or line of sight to potentially extend
across the institute. These lines of sight dissect the Institute at angles to create framed
views that visually link surrounding buildings. The Institutes terraces are intercepted by
the form of the building, projected at angles, to offer unobstructed views along sight
lines. The vitality of events in second level studios and workshops can spill out onto the
terraces. Terraces around the inner courts allow visual connection to the lower floors and
to the workshop space below. The terrace on the third level towards the east could be
used as an outer extension of the cafe in summer. The cloistered intimacy of the terraces,
provides a space of contemplation for the creative designer, and articulates and
emphasizes the architectural motifs of the building itself. The terrace above the central
pathway also draws together the north and south wings of the building and integrates its
circulation patterns. (Fig. 6.12 - 6.15)
6.4 Design Factors
6.4.1 Intent
The Canadian institute of design is about generating an intimate, democratic feeling of
having the right to participate and move around freely, to interact and to contribute.
Creative learning environments are extraordinary environments; they are exciting
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DESIGN
C O N V E N T I O N
H W l \
STUDIOS
CENTRAL PATHAWY
WORKSHOP
Figure 6.10 Ground Floor Plan
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s t u q o
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STUDIOS
TERRACE I
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Figure 6.11 First and Second Floor: Program
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Figure 6.13 Long Section through Central Pathway
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Figure 6.14 Transverse Sections
Section through Design convention hall
Section through Central pathway
Section through Workshops
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Figure 6.15 Elevations
East and south
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Figure 6.16 Model: Ground floor level
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creative laboratories. As such they must be fine works of architecture and have a highly
developed intimacy with the human creative process far beyond the requirements of the
traditional enclosed classrooms, studios and workspaces. The institutes environment is
designed to connote work to the observer; work with a decided difference. When one
walks into these environments, one is immediately flooded with the message that this is
for creative collective work. It is an environment with variety for stimulation and
immediate access to the tools the users need to do their work effectively. It is an
environment to create, store, reflect, retrieve, and recreate knowledge and design. It is a
unitary message that comes on all levels: visceral, intellectual, spatial and visual.
(Fig. 6.16-6.17)
In nature, there is variety, but traditional environments eliminate that variety and
strive for uniformity. Environments that inspire creativity accommodate the human need
for variety, for safety and for adventure in alternate spaces of prospect. This sort of
environment is created by levels of porosity; the interaction of light, sound, materials
through pores and in the way users move within the spaces.
Porosity is not so much a design aesthetic, though this is present and is
consciously constructed, as it is a way of working expressed through design: fluid, active
and participatory. Porous space accommodates spaces and sub-spaces that read through
each other, have a unique character and provide many places for creative outbursts to
happen.
The entire environment must look and feel like its permeable. Within this myriad
of sub environments, spaces and activities can take place. Spaces must divide for
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Figure 6.18 Forecourt
Figure 6.19 East Entry
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Figure 6.20 Inner Pores
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Figure 6.21 Terraces
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Figure 6.20 Administrative Zone: View from ramp
Figure 6.21 Administrative Zone: Waiting and office areas
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Figure 6.24 Workshop Area: View from administrative zone
Figure 6.25 Workshop Area: Workshop offices on the left
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Figure 6.26 Workshop Area: Workshop offices
Figure 6.27 Workshop Area: Inner Court
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protection of different groups and functions, and yet flow together. One must be able to
develop a sense of the other areas, pick up the energy from them and logically move to
different work areas as the work demands. Spaces can be tied by materials and light
quality and continuity elements: the ramps as main circulation paths, the porous wall
system weaving throughout the entire plan, the interior social hubs, the exterior
landscaped workshops and roof terraces that relate to the war museum and the capital
axially. The institute must strengthen its identity to create national awareness about
design and still be a part of the larger context of its environment. The institute must
convey a sense of uniqueness, a sense of relaxed order and excitement and explicit focus
on creative productivity, yet maintain a visual interest level.
6.4.2 A Sense of Place
Familiar local scenes, the steady movement of sculling shells on the canal, or the
familiar sight of cyclists, framed views of the war museum and the parliament buildings,
pedestrian connections to the commons park and the surroundings, establishes a sense of
place for the Canadian Institute of Design. A sense of place gives vital context to a
project; while working, a person should know where they are. Architecture establishes
this context, this sense of place. The environment must supply a variety of references
that establish time and place in a concrete way such as the movement of natural light and
a view of pedestrians filtered through porous space in the institute of design.
In the eighties, Alexander Tzonis, Liane Lefaivre (1981) and Kenneth Frampton
(1985) created the term critical regionalism to describe a contemporary architecture
which could neither be branded as internationalism nor as a folkloric or historical concept
of region and architecture. The architecture of critical regionalism makes reference to the
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site, the genius loci on a more abstract level. Rather than dealing extensively with the
region itself and a particular regional style, Framptons concept of regionalism mainly
focuses on the relationship of a building to its site and location in a sociological context.
On a discussion of critical regionalism in an article written for the Yale University
architectural journal Perspecta Frampton states, Its salient cultural precept is place
creation; the general model to be employed in all future development is the enclave that
is to say the bounded fragment against which the ceaseless inundation of a placeless,
alienating consumerism will find itself momentarily checked.1
6.4.3 Form
Porosity is not an instrumental dictator of the physical form of the Institute, but
the essence of a collective creative environment. The appropriateness of a form depends
on the degree to which it fits design decisions. The process is more important than the
idea. In the case of the institutes design process, architecture is not based on a tradition
in which you have an idea that is always associated with form so that the form and idea
are more important than the matter. As a designer, one can impose the form or idea on
matter. The idea precedes the matter. For the Institute, the design process generates a
form or idea through the manipulation of matter; matter in the broadest sense of the term
- not only in the sense of material.
A circulation pattern such as the main ramp in the institute, or the way people group
together for a certain activity, or the way people view the surrounding architecture such
as the Peace tower and war museum from the institute have influenced the design of the
institute. The north wing of the building is raised to allow semi basement parking and
1Kenneth Frampton, Prospects for a Critical Regionalism, Perspecta 20, Yale Architectural Journal
(1983): 162.
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frame views of the canal. The main entry and exit points are accessed through the central
pathway. From the parking area at the semi basement level, one can move up into the
studio spaces and exhibit areas; digital labs, the faculty offices and cafe are further up. As
one walks through the central ramp and experiences the building, the path breaks into
inner courts and further breaks into pores in the structure that create framed views of
different spaces in the building. The interior and exterior workshops are visually linked
and face each other. The terraces open up at angles to address sight lines. The building
extends onto its surroundings. These factors have influenced design decisions and
together with a complexity of issues such as those of circulation, function and resonance,
contribute to the form. The process becomes what forms the project rather than the final
effect that one decides at the outset of the process. (Fig. 6.18 - 6.33)
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Figure 6.28 East Entry and Inner Court
Figure 6.29 North Wing: Inner Court
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Figure 6.30 Exhibit Space: View towards studios
Figure 6.31 Digital Labs
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Figure 6.32 Studio Space
Studios surrounding the design convention hall.
Figure 6.33 Exhibit Space: View through pores
Navigating through levels of porosity ranging from visual to actual spatial
transitions, getting a sense of whats happening in the Institute such as everyday
occurrences, moments and exhibits through pores as framed views, makes it
accessible and inviting to public participation.
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7 CONCLUSIONS
In conclusion it is appropriate to recapitulate the questions and concepts discussed
earlier on in the thesis. Is it possible for the Canadian Institute of Design to be a social
space, to promote design awareness, democratic participation and exhibit a national
character, all at the same time? The thesis considers the architectural implications of a
new understanding of social space as porous space. This paradigm sees social space not
as a homogenous, abstract and passive entity, but as heterogeneous, porous and active
through democratic participation. The DIAC study discussed in the introduction,
establishes the need for a Canadian Institute of Design. Case studies of the Bauhaus and
other institutes of design explain the nature of an institute of design. A discussion of
Henri Lefebvres notions of social space and George Parkin Grants views on Canadian
democracy forms a framework for the Canadian Institute of Design. Finally the design
project i.e. the porous architecture of the Canadian Institute of Design answers the
questions posed and demonstrates the concepts discussed.
A critical reassessment of the Bauhaus ideology reveals a closed, isolated
approach to design, limiting it to the domain of the designer. The Bauhaus was successful
in facilitating large-scale economic production by co-operating with the industry.
However, a lack of initiative in integrating other groups such as the public/user groups in
design activities is apparent. In this sense, the Bauhaus was not porous to ideas from
outside other than its designers. A study of more contemporary institutes of design
reflects the institutes respective presence, agendas, objectives and contribution to the
field of design education and awareness. Within this set of case studies it is apparent that
these institutes have similar agendas with subtle variations ranging from an emphasis on
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industrial culture to human centred design. As national institutes of design, the Design
Institute of Australia and the Netherlands Design Institute promote the value of design
but do not seem to exhibit a specific Australian or Dutch character. Another
observation is that support from the government, public sector, industry and professional
sectors is essential in promoting national awareness in design. More precisely, an
interdisciplinary, collaborative approach and a national character are desirable attributes
for a proposed Canadian Institute of design.
A discussion of Henri Lefebvres theoretic stance on social space conveys the
importance of the sociable and porous nature of an Institute of Design as fundamental
precepts. A discussion of social space helps, both to think about what a porous
environment can be like and to clarify the designers role in creating such an
environment. The thesis draws on the idea that social space is not a passive, abstract,
homogeneous and isotropic container of objects. It is active, operational, productive and
performative. Likewise porous space is not merely porous in an abstract sense. It is
porous to ideas, to physical, visual and spatial links, to democratic participation,
interaction and dialogue. Porous space is multifaceted as it integrates notions of social
interaction, democratic participation and Canadian-ness. Porous space demands daily
negotiations of the boundaries between private and public. Porous space allows
boundaries between design professionals, private and government bodies, students,
potential clients and the public sector to overlap and intersect. A discussion of George
Grants views emphasizes the importance of Canadas participatory and deliberative
strong democracy. As an inclusive social concept, porosity emphasizes the empowerment
of all members of a design community to contribute their own ideas. This approach,
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where the heterogeneity of multiple voices categorizing professionals, private enterprises,
government officials, students and the public user group meet, echoes a particular
Canadian-ness in its democratic appeal.
To imbibe these factors into the hypothetical design project, the Canadian
Institute of design; a porous architecture demonstrates the aforementioned theory of
porous space. The institutes design is characterized by pores, inner courts, a fluid
circulation pattern that creates visual, spatial and physical links, which extend subtly to
the exterior landscape. Design decisions such as multiple movement paths stemming
from the main entry, the subtle integration, but not compromise, of casually unfolding
public and semi-public/private sequences, the blending of indoor and outdoor sequences,
and the ability of the spaces to accommodate various collaborating and working functions
favours an inviting, inclusive atmosphere. As one moves around, there are constantly
changing corporeal situations that respond to gestures of collective participation. There is
a blurring of the distinction between spaces that provide an array of ways for the subject
to integrate and experience enclosure and exposure.
The design addresses porosity at an intrinsic as well as urban level. Cut outs or
pores through floor slabs link activities on different floors. Cut outs or pores through
floor slabs and partitions connect activities across different floors and levels. There is
also the public interface between the institute of design and the urban fabric that the
design must reference and integrate with the city and existing context. Through the
institutes terraces that frame and form visual links between the war museum, the capital
and the city, the design becomes a part of the city, neither mimicking nor ignoring the
existing context.
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The thesis also suggests porosity to be a powerful symbol of the enduring social
relationships that define the contemporary city and are critical to its success. The porous
*
and social spaces thus created are places of agreement, contradiction and invention, the
city and the capitals common ground, where differences are celebrated but also blurred
in order to be a part of the larger creative process. These are the places of shared
experience, where diversity coexists with community, where participation and interaction
are open to all. Thus, the Canadian Institute of Design is a social construct, which
provides a place for the sharing of symbolic and pragmatic dialogue, and then becomes
the expression of human social interaction. Porosity establishes the grounds for the
interplay of similarity and difference, proximity and distance and architecture comes into
existence. Even a subjective experience of architecture would always be a shared
experience, inasmuch as it demands a context to enable its actuality.
The key ideas that emerge from this thesis are the importance of democratic
participation and collaborative thinking in a porous environment such as the Canadian
Institute of Design. The design and architecture of the Institute brings together many of
the above conceptual threads arising out of porous space namely: social interaction,
democratic participation, Canadian-ness and creativity. These ideas are intertwined
because design is a matter of choice; it has social implications; its the artful use of
freedom and constraints for maximizing the potential to create value with the designed
environment. The Canadian Institute of Design sets the national agenda for the role of
design in its social, political, cultural and creative contexts. It affirms the strategic
importance of building and promoting national awareness and consciousness about
design.
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