grossform

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Grossformen im Wohnungsbau deals with the issue of public space within the city. Written by Oswal Mathias Ungers in 1966, it considers the state of the city at the time and propsoses a solution to the loss of public space and it’s connection with individual expression. The problem, he argues may be solved with a ‘Grossform. To Ungers however, ‘Grossform’ is not the same notion of bigness that Koolhass, a contemporary of Ungers, expressed in his book ‘Bigness or the problem of large in S, M, L, XL’ in 1995. For Ungers, ‘Grossform’ has little to do with size, but is rather an architectural expression across any scale that offers a “grounding to the unpredictable and fleeting condition of life in the city” (Schrijver L., The Archipelago City: Piecing together Collectivi- ties, Oase 71):“Warum Grossform?...Die Antwort: Die Grossform schafft den Rahmen, die Ordnung und den geplanten Raum für einen unvorhersehbaren, nicht planbaren, lebendigen Prozess, für eine parasitäre Architektur. Ohne diese Komponente bleibt jede Planung starr und leblos.” (Ungers O.M., Grossformen im Wohnungsbau, 1966, p. 15)Ungers starts the book by stating that there is a growing population increasing the amount of land available per capita in the city. Paris, for example, he estimates at being 5 times overbuilt for the amount of land needed for each person. The result of this is that the city must grow upwards. He discusses 2 points at length:1. The loss of unity within the city 2. The loss of individual expression“Übertriebene Ballung und uferloses Wachstum sind die Beiden Pole, ywischen denen das Pendel ausschlägt. Dazwischen liegt die Beschränkung auf das noch tragbare Mass.” (Ungers O.M., Grossformen im Wohnungsbau, 1966, p. 15)The complexity of life within the city is so vast and undefined that it is not to be un- derstood by architects, explains Ungers. Social engineering should not be the purpose of architects and city planners but rather the pursuit of architecture as architecture. Ungers suggests that a formal exploration of spacial configurations at multiple scales will provide the grounding for functional solutions (Schrijver L., The Archipelago City: Piecing together Collectivities, Oase 71).‘Grossformen’ become the organisational masterplans that establishes the order within the city. As Ungers defines the ‘Grossform’ as a system rather than as specific objects, it allows for the individual growth and design to emerge as a “parasitic architecture” (Ungers O.M., Grossformen im Wohnungsbau, 1966,). See oppositeUngers gives a range of historical and contemporary architectural examples to explain his concept of ‘Grossformen’. Of these he identifies 4 main types: the street, the plateau, the tower and the wall.

GroßformenWasel Delawar, Michael Thomas, Ian Ollivier, Alagialoglou Kleopatra, Nechali-oti Anastasia, Piniara Ioanna, Silvia Fracassi, Lisa Jones, Christian Rutherford, Christian Seidel

2ISLAND LIFEADIP SS 2010

Großformen

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Wall

Tower

Street

Plateau

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Wall

Plan of the selected City-islands (“City within the City”, in Arch+ n.180/182, p.182)

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Sideplan (19, in Arch+ n.180/182, p.138)Buckow 3: Joeres, Schalow

Sideplan (19, in Arch+ n.180/182, p.138)Buckow 2: Krause, Taner

Sideplan (...)Rupenhorn O.M. Ungers


Wall


Wall

The Wall as definer of UrbanityKevin BONEThe area was unqualified, composed by fragments which were unrelated.The intensification of this chosen “place of reason” is managed by means of a wall, as Grossform, which creates a coherent composition. It defines the street and re-establishes an urban condition.TheThe fragments, memories of the area, are then imbeded in the wall or are given a rural condition by being set in the “Backyard”.

The WallSpatial Reference: it Establishes an urban condition, while redefining the street. It acts as an organizer for the scattered fragments. ChronologicalChronological Reference: the preexisting fragments stand as memories. Some are imbedded or impregnated in the wall. The project is open to the future, as the wall would always serve as a backdrop to coordinate future objects.

The GardenThe resultant backyard is gets a rural meaning. The "city as a garden".The fragments of the city are given a new compositional coherence. They then relate to each other, each with it's own history and symbols: the fragile ruin, the immovable bunker; conflicting memories.

The Wall as definer of Urbanity

Kevin BoneThe area was unqualified, composed by fragments which were unrelated. The intensification of this chosen “place of reason” is managed by means of a wall, as a Großform, which creates a coherent composition. It defines the street and re-establishes an

urban condition.The fragments, memories of the area, are them imbedded in the wall or are given rural condition by being set in the “Backyard”.

The WallSpatial Reference: it establishes an urban condition, while redefin-ing the street. It acts as an organizer for the scattered fragments. Chronological Refernce: the preexisting fragments stand as memo-ries. Some are imbedded or impregnated in the wall. The project is open to the future, as the wall would always serve as a backdrop to coordinate future objects.

The GardenThe resultant backyard is gets a rural meaning. The “city as a garden”. The fragments of the city are given a new compositional coherence. They then relate to each other, each with it’s own his-tory and symbols: the fragile ruin, the immovable bunker, conflicting memories.

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Tower


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Plan Voisin Le Corbusier

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Sideplan

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Street


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Sideplan (19, in Arch+ n.180/182, p.138)Buckow 2: Krause, Taner

Sideplan (19, in Arch+ n.180/182, p.138)Wedding 1: Dennert, Mahlke


Plateau


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Sideplan (19, in Arch+ n.180/182, p.138)Buckow 5: Uhlmann, Schaper

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Ungers’ work maintains a keen interest in the relationship of transit infrastructure and buildings. Often, transportation strategies are used as a catalyst whatever the scale: master planning schemes or housing projects. The interface between these fundamental city elements provides the framework for creating new urban models and forms. The goal is efficiency, the methods rational.

Projects will begin with an analysis of transit networks at an urban scale. In Schnellbahn und Gebäude, for example, the hierarchy for transportation is set out as a structure for development. The question then is how can this network be used to generate built form? How can one reconcile existing infrastructure systems, that have been informed by historical patterns of growth and new systems?

Four main conditions can be extrapolated from the study of Ungers. Each condition is defined by the mediator, how users phase out of transit and into building. The first is the street, where individual built elements connect independently to the transit network. The node is defined by the various levels of transit that cross it. The building is formed by the need for connexion. When transit is above or below buildings, vertical circulation is the last step in transitioning to building. Finally, parking solutions are developed when automobiles are the main mode of transportation to a given building. The project Rehabilitation and Parking develops a series of solutions for this condition.

Later projects display all four strategies. The hyperdensity of megastructural Berlin 1995, for example, allows for the application of parking, vertical cir culation, streets and especially nodes in close proximity to one another. In one of two models for the megastructure, an intricate and multilayered web of transit is laid out, then program is slotted in between.

Building and infrastructureIan Ollivier, Alagialoglou Kleopatra, Nechalioti Anastasia, Piniara Ioanna, Silvia Fracassi, Bérénice Corret, Caterina Viguera, Alexandra Giura, Lisa Jones, Chris-tian Rutherford, Christian Seidel


Building and Infrastructure

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Street

Node

Vertical circulation

Parking

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Street


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Node


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Axo

Axo


nodes

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Vertical circulation


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Yona Friedmann

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Sideplan

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Parking


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Project .....

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Sideplan

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grossform

Documents

archipelago city

city schrijver

selected cityislands

city planners

contemporary of ungers

oswal mathias ungers

concept of grossformen

warum grossform