sty sml blog : post 005 : detlef mertins, IIT 03.12.08 : chi
bioconstructivism, lecture by the head of penn’s architecture department
the story of constructivism’s influence on the current state of biomorphic,
deconstructivist design.
while mr. mertins did present an interesting history
(largely concerning lissitzky, moholy-nagy et al),
i was more interested in how these ideas are playing out now.
it would’ve been nice to see his response to student projects
and/or various examples from the contemporary landscape.
* this interest is based solely on my own ignorance – the 3-dimensional plotting of which
would likely resemble one of the aforementioned bioconstructivist structures, consequently.
el lissitzky figured prominently in this history.
below is his 1925 design for the Wolkenbügel (Cloud-iron)
which embodied his desire for a “rational architecture”
not found in the skyscrapers of that time.
notes, un/covered, found:
“sharp, steely and sublime”
flw – ‘no form in and of itself’ (?)
the machine provides the apparatus to surmise a new nature
social heredity and evolution have exponentiated the rate of human evolution
not enough convergence
ernst haeckel ‘art forms of nature’
above: haeckel, a formidable beard, a demure handgun and a less than formidable pose.
