אדריכלות ישראלית

Constant VS Variable

Architecture of Israel #

106

August

2016

page

english

This holistic system can be linked to various

fields of activity - civil engineering that

is responsible for the building’s stability;

interior architecture that focuses on semi-

mobile components; interior design that

focuses on mobile interfaces, and landscape

architecture that deals with the relationship

between buildings, and between them and

their environment.

Since the difference between the various

emphases is circumstance dependent, it is

like anything else, subjected to a gradual

evolutionary process. Unless something

unexpected causes it to go wrong. In this

case, the rules of the game change sharply,

disrupt the whole process, and cause the

system and all its components to adapt to

the new reality.

Such a sharp change could stem from

natural disasters, war, or technological

inventions that cause an upheaval, such as

the discovery of electricity, the development

of light bulbs, engines, telegraph, telephone,

computer, smart phone, internet, and all

known gadgets that make their ancestors

dispensable.

The most confusing architectural turning

point occurred in recent years with the

development of CAD systems and its

formal products strangely termed “digital

architecture”. Strangely, because it enables

short-term design at a dizzying speed in

places such as planning, where “take your

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The relationship between fixed and changeable is a basic dimension of architecture.

In principle this refers to the natural aspiration for establishing a stable and durable

building, while being able to adjust it to the user’s changing needs. Within this

framework, one can identify a gradual shift between fixed components such as walls

and ceilings; semi-mobile components such as windows, doors, steps, and shading

devices; and mobile components such as furniture, air-conditioners and other facilities

crucial for the adaptation of the building to its purpose.

time” is an advantage. As a result, the

conventional boundaries between fixed and

mobile are blurred.

The “wonders” of digital architecture, the

main achievements of which are swift

adaptation to changing situations (by the

way, the accurate definition of intelligence),

have been extensively covered here from

various angles, at the center of which is the

dispensable need for speed in architecture

(AI # 69, 79, 93, 105).

In this context, onemaymentionperformative

design and its attempts to increase

building effectiveness to meet changing

weather conditions, or interactive design

that changes various parameters of the

building in response to users’ behavior. It is

important to note that in all these cases, the

focus is on semi-mobile components – such

as shading devices, changing partitions, or

gimmicks that generate atmosphere.

However, apart from the unlimited ability

of digital architecture to create amorphous

forms that have nothing to do with the

building's main purpose, which is as said, to

provide stability. And, it is no accident that a

classical structure, just like any art form, is a

phenotype that has survived the test of time,

regardless of its trendy dependency on a

particular time and place.

Hence, the knowledge is there, and the

question is how to exploit it effectively, by

resolving the conflict between fast, instant

design, which does not require too much

thought, and the human need for durable

stability.

An article dealing with the processes (AI 69)

analyzes the distinction between constant

and variable components existing in any

process – whether filling out a university

registration form, frying an omelet or

constructing a building.

The argument there is that while a constant

component exists at any stage in a process,

without which it cannot otherwise be

completed, a variable component is any

nuance that gives the result its unique taste

and flavor. And the best example of this is

the significant difference between two yeast

cakes baked according to the same recipe

– one is enthusiastically complimented,

while the other – not always! On the basis

of this argument, one might resolve the

architectural paradox between what is

fashionable and transient and what is stable,

durable, and survives the test of time.

This distinction can also be deduced

from the difference between effective,

sustainable architecture and trendy,

transient architecture. That is - between the

structure’s durability and the relatively short

shelf-life of everything that encompasses it,

inside and out; if the former focuses primarily

on fixed or semi-fixed components, the latter

primarily promotes changing components.

Dr. Ami Ran