There are a few threads that define the journey that makes up the story that is told in Do We Need Architects, A Journey beneath the Surface of Architecture, and like the cities that were visited many times throughout the journey a few projects that are like DNA markers on the city. The markers define not exactly a building type, and not exactly a particular 'style' as the symplistic definition of architecture is based, but in the evolving process of the meeting of two minds and the development of a team around the exchange of ideas. The two minds: Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers and the team included the personalities of Mike Davies and Jan Kaplicky who is best known for his work under the name Future Systems, and thoughout the journey sometimes planned, sometimes chance encounters with some of the projects gives a very strong indication of design evolution.
The journey in tracing the evolution began in the classroom, at college on the BTEC Building Studies course at South Devon College, probably around 1989, discussing building services and hearing about an exhibition centre in France that has all the services on the outside of the building to free up the rectangular volume for the events it was hosting. Later was the discussion about the notion of 'white elephant' and another about the relatively new and shiny Lloyds building in the City, (financial centre of London). On visiting London in the summer of 1989, and seeing the Lloyds building for real the journey of discovery had commenced although I did not recognise it at the time.
Years later, on a study visit to Paris, standing in the plaza of CNAC Georges Pompidou on the Beaubourg Plateau, discussing the project with my fellow students, a few things fell into place, firstly this was the 'exhibition centre' that was being discussed at college and somehow the description at the time did nothing to prepare me for actually experiencing it up close. The second thing that fell into place was the association with the name Richard Rogers, a name I did know from the Lloyds building, and the notion that the two projects were linked. There are many stories about the design and construction of both projects, that formed the basis of my dissertation on the Post Graduate Diploma in that resulted in RIBA Part 2 qualification in 1999, the main focus of the study was the design process, the team, the approach and legacy of such a dramatic project.
Throughout the years many projects have been completed by individuals who made up the Piano+Rogers team, some have been visited, experienced and examined from Centre Pompidou itself, to the Lloyds Building, The Millennium Dome, Birmingham's Selfridges, Heathrow Terminal 5, The Shard, the Leadenhall Building...that all give a sense of progression, evolution of a design process that is borne out of program not aesthetics, defines a language not a style, a process that is always learning, changing, adjusting to the human events, needs and environment that architecture has to respond to beneath the surface of what is viewed by the media and by extension the public.
The full story is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble published by Xlibris - Do We Need ARCHITECTS?
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