Thursday, February 18, 2010
Functionalism and Prefabrication
Adrian Hobson
Out with the old, shock of the new... (Functionalism and Prefabrication)
It is our human nature to always want to improve and better our standard of all things in life, and design is no different. This is the reason we still have designers to this day. As designers we feel the need to improve on what already exists and to simply make life easier.
But what does this have to do with functionalism and prefabrication? You would ask.
Functionalism and prefabrication are just two of the many ways we as designers have enabled ourselves to simplify and improve on what has already been achieved in the past. The two together allow us to complete tasks quicker, save on unnecessary and costly materials, labour and machinery and generally create a more ordered and simplified living space, with no unnecessary details and over the top eccentricities.
In this essay I will explore the two main topics, functionalism and prefabrication and their origins and then ultimately how they impacted on the years following by referring to prominent designers that incorporated these aspects into their design.
Functionalism and prefabrication in a sense create modern design, we can see this clearly by looking at the Bauhaus which was prominent from 1919-1933. The Bauhaus started using new materials and experimented with these new materials to create new and different effects, Bauhaus students were encouraged to design products and buildings that expressed simplicity, functionality, and cleanliness meaning no decoration was thought necessary. This in turn ultimately falls under the international style in around 1920-1960s. A well known figurehead during this era was Louis Sullivan who stated the well known phrase `Form ever follows function. `
Designers in this time period emphasised that if something was in a design it was there for a valid reason, either that it created convenience or simplicity or that it added enrichment to the design as a whole. The basic idea was to produce products or construct buildings purely for what they were intended for and nothing more, this meant all decorations and ornamentations were excluded as they had no function in the design, other than to be something to look at.
Before the modernistic approach to design we notice how most products and buildings were either one of a kind, very decorated and most probably constructed of materials that were available in the area. This obviously took much time as specially trained professionals were probably commissioned to construct certain parts of buildings which took both time and money. By designing more functional buildings and products this process could be cut out as the extra ornamentation would not be in the design as it did not serve a purpose.
This is where prefabrication comes into the equation. By feeling the need to simplify and reduce designs to their simplest form we see the introduction of new materials that have been pre-constructed for the convenience of the designer. These prefabricated materials reduced time spent on construction, and were very much more suited to the style of building, for example, Frank Lloyd Wright`s Falling Water House, where prefabricated materials make up certain parts of the cantilever structures, incorporated as a result of the increased strength and durability because of the fact that by prefabricating sections they could add much more steel than if they had been constructing the section on site with the use of structural supports.
Functionalism and prefabrication are generally more prominent in urban, built up areas, as the cities are cluttered, clarity and simplification are often sought after. In urban areas one often sees very plain blocks of flats with no exceptional details. We also notice how the majority of these flats are very similar. This is because functionalism and prefabrication have played their part. The point of the block of flats is to house the masses at the cheapest possible rate, thus the minimal detail. The reason the flats are generally the same is because most, if not all of them are comprised of prefabricated sections.
Prefabrication is used for a number of reasons including minimising waste of materials and being able to recycle materials readily, quality control, construction time is reduced as a result of mass production of components and products/buildings are completed sooner which in turn results in more projects being completed and thereby the more the industry involved witnesses a good development rate.
Functionalism and prefabrication also plays its part in emergency situations, such as in the United Kingdom after World War 2 when permanent housing was demolished as a result of the bombings, because of the fact that assembly is fast and costs are relatively low. Although functionalism and prefabrication played a part in the war, it was actually the war that ultimately created functionalism and prefabrication. I say this as in emergency situations such as the war, people are forced to make do without the finer details. We notice how there were material restrictions in place because most resources were being channelled into war efforts, this resulted in only the bare necessities being produced and at rapid rates as the soldiers and armies involved needed supplies/weapons/infrastructure.
Prefabrication was not merely limited to buildings only, though it is the most profound system of construction. Prefabrication ranged from the first Ford production line in 1908 to the assembly of computer components in this very day. As a result of this mass production many products are constructed in very short periods of time. This also results in products being more readily available to a customer which in turn sees an increase in sales.
Prefabrication has allowed designers to design and construct products and structures that before were impossible. Such as the likes of the House Arc by Joseph Bellomo from Palo Alto near San Francisco. Bellomo has designed a modular house, one that can easily be erected and taken down. The whole house is pre-designed and consists of light weight materials such as tubular steel pipes, translucent polycarbonate plastic sheeting that would be coated with photovoltaic film which results in this modular house being eco-friendly as it will supply the house with lighting and power for appliances.
The light weight and eco-friendly aspect of this design allows for easy transportation and is ideal for emergency situations and for low income earners. The design is very functional, incorporating open plan living space and the fact that the design incorporates rounded walls, like a pod, means there is no need for excessive corner joints, and another factor is the strength that the circular shape possesses compared to that of a square structure that would require supports. The fact that the House Arc is prefabricated means that additions and extensions can be added when needed, as parts are mass produced and standardised, ultimately this is an instant house, as it incorporates lightweight materials, produced and pre-packed in a factory and allows for further extensions. A major plus to this design is also the fact that it incorporates a green aspect to it; it therefore has less of an impact on the environment and is able to sustain its self.
Now that prefabricated materials were available there was much more freedom for designers to design products that are very much out of the normal and that would find a niche market in the product industry. One such designer is Ferdinand Chauvier, a former Belgian Congo hydraulics engineer, who under financial pressure brought his family to South Africa in 1951. Ferdinand and his son Daniel Chauvier were the inventors and designers of the Kreepy Krauly, a pool cleaning device. Ultimately their first designs were made of wood, rubber melted on their stovetop, and normal piping. After selling a few of their home made models the Chauviers were able to make use of plastic injection moulding which had begun to develop in the 1800`s, to professionally produce the Kreepy Krauly. By making use of the injection moulding the products were made extremely quickly, thereby supplying the demanding markets with products that were in high demand. Plastic in these times had just started making their entry into the commercial sectors, this meant that inventions such as the Kreepy Krauly would be seen as revolutionary. The fact that plastic was now readily available also shows how designers could advance in their designs so much more than before when they were somewhat limited to the basic construction materials such as wood and steel.
As I have shown, the incorporation of functionalism and prefabrication aspects into designs of old and current, has seen us gain an improved standard of living. The technologies of yesteryear have directly affected us by improving quality of materials, allowed faster completion of construction and generally helped in the development of industries that have ultimately allowed us to achieve what we have in this present day.
www.about.com Inventors The History of Plastics ACCESSED ON 4/02/2010
www.kreepykrauly.co.za Our Success Story ACCESSED ON 5/02/2010
www.wikipedia.org Prefabrication Updated 02/02/2010 ACCESSED ON 29/01/2010
www.wikipedia.org Functionalism (architecture) Updated 21/01/2010 ACCESSED ON 29/01/2010
www.thefreedictionary.com Functionalism ACCESSED ON 5/02/2010
www.wikipedia.org Falling Water Design and Construction Updated 03/02/2010
ACCESSED ON 30/01/2010
www.ecofriend.org Solar-powered House Arc prototype can be flat packed for shipping ACCESSED ON 30/01/2010
www.igreenspot.com The House Arc By Joseph Bellomo ACCESSED ON 29/01/2010
I Adrian Hobson hereby declare that this essay is wholly my own work and that nothing is copied and pasted. All sources have been acknowledged as necessary.
Out with the old, shock of the new... (Functionalism and Prefabrication)
It is our human nature to always want to improve and better our standard of all things in life, and design is no different. This is the reason we still have designers to this day. As designers we feel the need to improve on what already exists and to simply make life easier.
But what does this have to do with functionalism and prefabrication? You would ask.
Functionalism and prefabrication are just two of the many ways we as designers have enabled ourselves to simplify and improve on what has already been achieved in the past. The two together allow us to complete tasks quicker, save on unnecessary and costly materials, labour and machinery and generally create a more ordered and simplified living space, with no unnecessary details and over the top eccentricities.
In this essay I will explore the two main topics, functionalism and prefabrication and their origins and then ultimately how they impacted on the years following by referring to prominent designers that incorporated these aspects into their design.
Functionalism and prefabrication in a sense create modern design, we can see this clearly by looking at the Bauhaus which was prominent from 1919-1933. The Bauhaus started using new materials and experimented with these new materials to create new and different effects, Bauhaus students were encouraged to design products and buildings that expressed simplicity, functionality, and cleanliness meaning no decoration was thought necessary. This in turn ultimately falls under the international style in around 1920-1960s. A well known figurehead during this era was Louis Sullivan who stated the well known phrase `Form ever follows function. `
Designers in this time period emphasised that if something was in a design it was there for a valid reason, either that it created convenience or simplicity or that it added enrichment to the design as a whole. The basic idea was to produce products or construct buildings purely for what they were intended for and nothing more, this meant all decorations and ornamentations were excluded as they had no function in the design, other than to be something to look at.
Before the modernistic approach to design we notice how most products and buildings were either one of a kind, very decorated and most probably constructed of materials that were available in the area. This obviously took much time as specially trained professionals were probably commissioned to construct certain parts of buildings which took both time and money. By designing more functional buildings and products this process could be cut out as the extra ornamentation would not be in the design as it did not serve a purpose.
This is where prefabrication comes into the equation. By feeling the need to simplify and reduce designs to their simplest form we see the introduction of new materials that have been pre-constructed for the convenience of the designer. These prefabricated materials reduced time spent on construction, and were very much more suited to the style of building, for example, Frank Lloyd Wright`s Falling Water House, where prefabricated materials make up certain parts of the cantilever structures, incorporated as a result of the increased strength and durability because of the fact that by prefabricating sections they could add much more steel than if they had been constructing the section on site with the use of structural supports.
Functionalism and prefabrication are generally more prominent in urban, built up areas, as the cities are cluttered, clarity and simplification are often sought after. In urban areas one often sees very plain blocks of flats with no exceptional details. We also notice how the majority of these flats are very similar. This is because functionalism and prefabrication have played their part. The point of the block of flats is to house the masses at the cheapest possible rate, thus the minimal detail. The reason the flats are generally the same is because most, if not all of them are comprised of prefabricated sections.
Prefabrication is used for a number of reasons including minimising waste of materials and being able to recycle materials readily, quality control, construction time is reduced as a result of mass production of components and products/buildings are completed sooner which in turn results in more projects being completed and thereby the more the industry involved witnesses a good development rate.
Functionalism and prefabrication also plays its part in emergency situations, such as in the United Kingdom after World War 2 when permanent housing was demolished as a result of the bombings, because of the fact that assembly is fast and costs are relatively low. Although functionalism and prefabrication played a part in the war, it was actually the war that ultimately created functionalism and prefabrication. I say this as in emergency situations such as the war, people are forced to make do without the finer details. We notice how there were material restrictions in place because most resources were being channelled into war efforts, this resulted in only the bare necessities being produced and at rapid rates as the soldiers and armies involved needed supplies/weapons/infrastructure.
Prefabrication was not merely limited to buildings only, though it is the most profound system of construction. Prefabrication ranged from the first Ford production line in 1908 to the assembly of computer components in this very day. As a result of this mass production many products are constructed in very short periods of time. This also results in products being more readily available to a customer which in turn sees an increase in sales.
Prefabrication has allowed designers to design and construct products and structures that before were impossible. Such as the likes of the House Arc by Joseph Bellomo from Palo Alto near San Francisco. Bellomo has designed a modular house, one that can easily be erected and taken down. The whole house is pre-designed and consists of light weight materials such as tubular steel pipes, translucent polycarbonate plastic sheeting that would be coated with photovoltaic film which results in this modular house being eco-friendly as it will supply the house with lighting and power for appliances.
The light weight and eco-friendly aspect of this design allows for easy transportation and is ideal for emergency situations and for low income earners. The design is very functional, incorporating open plan living space and the fact that the design incorporates rounded walls, like a pod, means there is no need for excessive corner joints, and another factor is the strength that the circular shape possesses compared to that of a square structure that would require supports. The fact that the House Arc is prefabricated means that additions and extensions can be added when needed, as parts are mass produced and standardised, ultimately this is an instant house, as it incorporates lightweight materials, produced and pre-packed in a factory and allows for further extensions. A major plus to this design is also the fact that it incorporates a green aspect to it; it therefore has less of an impact on the environment and is able to sustain its self.
Now that prefabricated materials were available there was much more freedom for designers to design products that are very much out of the normal and that would find a niche market in the product industry. One such designer is Ferdinand Chauvier, a former Belgian Congo hydraulics engineer, who under financial pressure brought his family to South Africa in 1951. Ferdinand and his son Daniel Chauvier were the inventors and designers of the Kreepy Krauly, a pool cleaning device. Ultimately their first designs were made of wood, rubber melted on their stovetop, and normal piping. After selling a few of their home made models the Chauviers were able to make use of plastic injection moulding which had begun to develop in the 1800`s, to professionally produce the Kreepy Krauly. By making use of the injection moulding the products were made extremely quickly, thereby supplying the demanding markets with products that were in high demand. Plastic in these times had just started making their entry into the commercial sectors, this meant that inventions such as the Kreepy Krauly would be seen as revolutionary. The fact that plastic was now readily available also shows how designers could advance in their designs so much more than before when they were somewhat limited to the basic construction materials such as wood and steel.
As I have shown, the incorporation of functionalism and prefabrication aspects into designs of old and current, has seen us gain an improved standard of living. The technologies of yesteryear have directly affected us by improving quality of materials, allowed faster completion of construction and generally helped in the development of industries that have ultimately allowed us to achieve what we have in this present day.
www.about.com Inventors The History of Plastics ACCESSED ON 4/02/2010
www.kreepykrauly.co.za Our Success Story ACCESSED ON 5/02/2010
www.wikipedia.org Prefabrication Updated 02/02/2010 ACCESSED ON 29/01/2010
www.wikipedia.org Functionalism (architecture) Updated 21/01/2010 ACCESSED ON 29/01/2010
www.thefreedictionary.com Functionalism ACCESSED ON 5/02/2010
www.wikipedia.org Falling Water Design and Construction Updated 03/02/2010
ACCESSED ON 30/01/2010
www.ecofriend.org Solar-powered House Arc prototype can be flat packed for shipping ACCESSED ON 30/01/2010
www.igreenspot.com The House Arc By Joseph Bellomo ACCESSED ON 29/01/2010
I Adrian Hobson hereby declare that this essay is wholly my own work and that nothing is copied and pasted. All sources have been acknowledged as necessary.
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