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A Study on the Co-relationship between the Endless Space of Frederick J.

Kiesler and Non-territorial Space Expression in De-constructivism Architecture


Yoon, Jae Eun*

*Professor, Kookmin University, College of Design, 861-1, Chongnung-dong, Songbuk-gu, Seoul, 136-702 Korea, dreamask@Kookmin.ac.kr

Abstract: Frederick J. Kiesler, born in Cernauti in Romania on September 22 1890, presented Endless Theatre design based on the concept of endless space in 1924, showing his thoughts on non-territoriality of space, which went beyond the modern functionalistic thinking. Being presented through egg-shaped Continuous Construction (1934) and Endless House (1952), his thoughts on The Endless escaped from metaphysical concept of space through Correalism and Biotechnique, and became critical of modern functionalistic concept of space. Following Kiesler, Philip Johnson invited seven deconstructionist architects to the Museum of Modern Art held in New York 1988, which made deconstructionist construction emerge. However, deconstruction of concept of space and non-territoriality of space, both of which are found in deconstructionist construction, date back to the oval structure used by Kiesler in the Endless Theatre in 1924. With continuous curved surface, this structure showed that it could maintain a shape structurally without column or frame. This brought paradigm shift from the conventional thought that floor, wall, ceiling and column, which are structural elements of construction, are primary elements in shaping space. This shift matches to deconstructionist ideas. Egg-shaped curved figure proposed by Kiesler has no corner and its surface is a continued one, showing non-territoriality of space best. This non-territoriality is found equally in the Roof Top Remodeling proposed by Coop Himmelbau, a deconstructionist architect. Giving up conventional concept of space, Coop Himmelblau embodied non-territoriality of space in construction by excluding wall, column and roof, in order to bring total liberation from all conventional traditions and customs of construction. This is similar to the concept of the Endless proposed by Kiesler. Therefore, the methodologies and objectives of this study are to understand the correlationship between Kiesler and deconstructionist non-territorial expression of space through theoretical observation, and identify the correlationship of non-territorial expression of space by analyzing the construction works made by Kiesler and deconstructionists.

1. Background and Purpose of The Study With the industrial revolution and the bourgeois revolution in the 18C as a momentum, the waves of modernization have widely spread out to the architecture and design sector. In particular, the 1910s were a period when architecture based on modern functionalism showed specific results, one of which was the formation of a frame called International Style. Modern architecture based on International Style was advocated by a number of architects including Walter Gropius, Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, and what they pursued was based on functionalism. At that time, modernity and modernization had a close correlation in the architecture and design sector. Modern architecture made of steel and glass, that were new technologies and materials brought about by

the industrial revolution, removed all functionally unnecessary elements. Such a trend in modern architecture is clearly explained in short in a paper titled Ornament and crime, written by Adolf Loos, where he advocated that ornament is a crime. The worship of functionalism by modern architecture appeared as a powerful topic that could sway the 20C, which most architects tended to follow. However, despite such a trend of the times, Frederick Kiesler criticized the modern functionalism architecture, and advocated that the space in architecture had more meanings than its functions, by suggesting the concept of endless space. Kiesler criticized International Style, saying that it is only one of the designs based on common life style while resisting imitative ornament that has long been continuing1. It is significant that he considered International Style a target of resistance, rather than a target of obeying. Kieslers idea on space has similarity with deconstruction architecture which appeared in the 1980s. Therefore, this study is aimed at examining what the correlation is between Kieslers concept of endless space with informal space expression seen in deconstruction structure.

2. The Method and Range of the study The range of this study includes an analysis on Fredrick Kieslers endless space concept, Design Correlation and Biotechnique in philosophical and spatial aspects of architecture, as well as an analysis on correlations between Kieslers space concept against modern functionalism architecture and the expression of deconstruction architecture space which appeared in the 1980s. As for the methods of this study, theoretical study by researching documents was performed in order to understand Kieslers ideas on architecture and the philosophical aspect of his space concept. By analyzing Kieslers works, the theoretical background of his suggestion of new and progressive space concept was also found in this study. Furthermore, it is also aimed at conducting comparative analysis on correlations between Kieslers progressive space concept with informal and non-territorial space concept that is seen in deconstruction architecture by studying works of deconstruction architects.

3. Kiesler and Deconstruction 3.1 Fredrick Kiesler Born in Cernauti, Romania, which was then Chernovtsy, the U.S.S.R, on September 22, 1890, Fredrick Kiesler grew up in Vienna, Austria, graduated from Wiener Technischen Hochschule, and entered Akademie der Bildenen Kunste where he took courses of woodcut, etching and lithograph. He presented a drift of Endless Theatre in 1923-1924 based on his main concept of endless which afterwards became a significant element to determine his view on the formative arts throughout his life. As his search for endless was revealed twice since then through egg-shaped Continuous Construction and Endless House in 1934 and 1952, respectively, he tried to come up with different space concept from that of functionalism. Kiesler participated in De Stijl in 1923 as the youngest participator, and drew public attention at the Paris Exhibition with his City in Space in 1925 where steel style was applied to space formation. In 1933, he manufactured a real life-sized model house of Space House, suggesting new ideas in housing design. Furthermore, as he served the Julliard School as a master of stage setting in 1934, he made an immense contribution to stage design and stage setting. While he served the Columbia University as a visiting professor for Yamaguchi Kazuhiro, translated by Kim Myung-hwan, Fredrick J. Kiesler; The Origin of Communication Space Design, Art Culture, 2000., p. 23
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the Department of Architecture in 1937, he organized the Laboratory of Design Correlation, and presented the concepts of Biotechnique and Design Correlation in an effort to suggest new alternative to the space concept of International Style which was then prevalent. 3.2 The Concept of Endless Space of Fredrick J. Kiesler Kieslers endless concept was first suggested through the oval inside of a theatre which was presented in Vienna, 1923. In 1924, he unveiled Endless Theatre. One of the specific features of Endless Theatre is that dual consecutive curved figures play a role of a shelter. The theatre is oval looking like a bread which was pressed from up and down and put on a floor, which can define Kieslers concept on space most precisely, forming a core of his ideas. The core of this space is that its structure does not have any pillar or frame, but it still maintains its form. Kieslers endless concept accepts a dual structure consisting of meanings of time and space simultaneously. If one interprets endless as without an end, it means the eternity of time, while it also implies there is no corner in an aspect of space.2 In the 1920s, architecture showed a strong tendency to interpret space from a functional point of view. In general, buildings were shaped as square boxes, with four corners at the points where the ceiling adjoined the floor. However, there is no corner in Kieslers endless concept, and all planes are connected into one plane with continuity. While Endless Theatre introduced in 1924 expressed Kieslers concept on space, his Endless House, which was presented twice in 1958-1960 had an ultimate purpose of showing a space which responded to human sensibilities as well as a space which satisfies a function as a home. The first ideal environment that human beings experience is the womb of ones mother. The womb filled with amniotic fluid is not only the first space that a human being experiences as a life but also the most agreeable space. The space of amniotic fluid does not have a form of square or corners that are pursued by functionalism architecture. As the most suitable space to human beings, the space of the womb is the perfect space where human beings can pursue their ideals. Such ideals can actually be found in caves, one of the first residential areas of human beings in the prehistoric age. Caves are primitive spaces without corners, that are deemed as the most adequate spaces for human beings residence. Such space concept of Kiesler did not only consider its aspect of forms. He also focused on functions required in order for human beings to lead their lives in a way of adapting themselves to nature and cosmic laws. Endless House is one of his representative works based on the consideration of such ideas. 3.3 Fredrick J. Kieslers Correlation and Biotechnique In the 1920s when functionalism3 architecture was prevailing, Kiesler, an architect who refused machinery and
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Model of New Theater Skill for International Exhibition

Section of Endless Theatre

Floor plan of Endless Theatre

Floor plan of Endless Theatre

<Picture 1> Kiesler, Endless theater, 1923

Yamaguchi Kazuhiro, Ibid. It is an international style published by Henry Russel Hitchcock and Philip Johnson with the International Exhibition of Modern Architecture in MOMA, New York, in 1931 as a momentum. The term was derived from architecture since 1920. It refers to an architectural style which recognizes space based on volume rather than mass, and pursues functional architectural space while excluding ornaments.

functionalism, and focused on new formative arts with space as a medium, criticized the reality of architects in the early 20C who showed a closed attitude in each genre and drove their formative activities into a diminutive way, and presented his concepts on Design Correlation and Biotechnique to the world. It was Design Correlation, Biotechnique-New approach to design, published in 1930 in a form of pamphlet where Kiesler used terms of Design Correlation and Biotechnique for the first time. He gave a lecture on a theme of Biotechnique vs Architecture: Lets stop studying on development of new functions and forms for old functions!, at a symposium titled Science and Design, held at the College of Engineering of Massachusetts University on June 6, 1938. Biotechnique started from his using a term, Vitalbau, meaning architecture with vitality in his paper which was contributed to Steel Vol. 11 and 12. While a term of Biotechnics has been prevailing afterwards, Biotechnique has been left as Kieslers unique space concept. Kieslers Design Correlation is focused on a force of continuous correlation which exists between human beings, nature and technology environment, and deals with relations between organic bodies and inorganic bodies. His Biotechnique is grounded on Design Correlation, which was derived from aggressive recognition of artificial objects that consist of technical environment, unlike biotechnics. For Kiesler, artificial environment was not a relative concept of natural environment. At the time when Kiesler was aggressively engaged in studying on space, most of architects defined artificial and natural environments as relative concepts of each other. However, Kiesler wanted to suggest his idea through biotechnique that what modernists called artificial environment also belonged to cosmic laws when taking a broad view on it. This concept came from an effort to create artificial environment whose center of thoughts should adapt itself to cosmic laws. Kieslers Design Correlation and Biotechnique were incapable of stopping the prevailing trend of mechanical civilization by machines in the times. However, it was the late 1960s when his ideas were accepted in reality. It was the time that brought about post-modernism as a resistance to modernism and an alternative to functional thought. In particular, the concepts on space and form in deconstruction architecture are highly similar to those of Kiesler. 3.4 Space Concept of Deconstruction Architecture In an international symposium at Johns Hopkins University, U.S.A., in 1966, which was held under the theme of The Language of Criticism and Science Man, Jacque Derida presented a paper titled Structure, Sign and Play in the Discourse of the Human Science, which was a strong flag of revolt against metaphysics and structuralism in the western culture since Plato, and a declaration of the beginning of the post-structuralism era.4 Deconstruction architecture starts from a space concept of architecture not based on physical matter but based on spiritual matter. Deconstruction had already existed in Platos philosophy in the west and the Zen in the east. What Plato advocated and what the Buddhism always warns is that truth and reality opens only when we break the belief that we took for granted through your five senses or six minds. Therefore, the spirit of deconstruction is to see things in a critical view and to have a universal thought surpassing time and space.5 Deconstruction on thoughts according to deconstruction philosophy, brought about the same results in architectural space. Even in the early 20C when the functionalism-based architectural space was believed to be the mainstream, Fredrick Kiesler strived to express the eternity of space from a point of deconstruction, out of the

Yang Se-eun, A study on Formative Linguistic Concept and Approaches to Interior Designs based on Deconstruction, the masters thesis of Ehwa Womans University, 1993, p. 50. 5 Lee Jong-keon, Deconstruction of Deconstruction Architecture, Bareon, 2000, p. 39.

frame of thoughts. As a result of such efforts by Kiesler, architects after the 1960s started doubting the existing metaphysical space concept, and brought about the shift to an era of post-modernism. In particular, Kieslers space concept has a similarity with the informal space and the non-territorial space expressions of Coop Himmelblau, a Deconstruction architect.

4. Correlations between Endless Space Concept and Non-territorial Space Expression of Deconstruction

<Picture 2> Co- relationship of Kieslers Non-territorial space and De-constructivism Architecture

4.1 Informal Space Concept and Continuity of Space The rules which made up all forms in ancient times followed the principles of nature. However, ever since human beings had a doubt on origins of all things in the universe, the concept of forms started changing according
Periodic division Periodic division of Philosophy Philosophy of nature Major issue of Architectural Ideology Nature centered Architecture God centered Architecture Middle ages Philosophy of God Royal authority centered Architecture Machine aesthetics Modern ages Philosophy of Science Architecture Function centered Architecture Ecological Architecture High-tech Architecture Modern times Philosophy of pluralism Digital Architecture, Philosophy centered Architecture Space concept Naturalism concept Endless concept God centered space concept Decorative craft art concept New material & Functional architecture Elimination of Ornament Formation of New citizen & Commercial Architecture Criticism of Modernism Recognition of Ecology Using Digital Technology De-constructivism Architecture Non-territorial space Philosophy centered concept

Ancient times

<Chart 1> Concept change of space philosophy in current age

to our thoughts. The first question that Thales6, the father of western philosophy, raised was What is the Arche which consists of the world?7. And he answered himself, It is water.. These question and answer were not mythological but scientific. Thales asked a scientific question, and gave an experimental answer. In modern architecture, the informal space concept pursues a spatial change in the two-dimension plane, whereas deconstruction architecture adopted the three-dimension informal space concept to architecture, in which point it is different from International Style. Kiesler presented a drift of Endless Theatre in 1924, which brought up the image of an egg, which used the specific feature of its space as a metaphoric expression of the relation between a fetus and a womb. Most of the buildings based on International Style, which was reckoned as a mainstream at that time, applied three elements of buildings, including wall, floor and ceiling, to architecture based on Euclidian geometry. However, Kiesler recognized space as an original existence of the universe, and pursued the continuity of space under the belief that there is no eternal geometry. The spatial continuity is also well seen in Rooftop Remodeling of Coop Himmelblau, one of the leading architects of deconstruction. The space concept of Coop Himmelblau completely gives up traditionally recognized elements such as wall, pillar and roof, and tries new concepts with which an architectural space can still be created. It is difficult to find architectural elements such as wall, pillar or roof in his Groninger Museum and Rooftop Remodeling just like Kieslers endless space. Such space consists of various elements that are not at all related to the architectural elements of functionalism, and tries to get out of all traditions and customs
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Thales, BC 624-BC 546, He was the first philosopher in Greece, the first of the seven wisest men and the founder of Milesian School. He was born in Miletos, one of the colonies of Greece, and started philosophy which added an origin of the world. He said the origin of the world was water. 7 Park Young-shik, Understanding of Western Philosophy, Philosophy and Reality, Feb. 2002, p. 27.

on the existing thoughts. However, Coop Himmelblau expressed dynamism in the three-dimension space adding the concept of deconstruction to the non-territorial space of Kiesler. This way, he tried to express the space concept by analyzing space based on the three-dimension thought from a stage of architectural designing, rather than understanding the architectural space based on horizontal and vertical planes. 4.2 Post-cubism in Forms and Deconstruction Architecture Abstract mechanical aesthetics in early modernism became a start of mass-production of box-type buildings pushed by functionalism and commercialism, and such a phenomenon has widely spread throughout the world. However, such box-type buildings were raised as a social problem in the modern society after the waves of modernization in the 1960s. This became an opportunity of the emergence of post modern architecture in various forms as an antipathy against functional architecture. Post modern architecture has developed into a free-style movement that tried to come along with free will of human beings, surpassing formal expression on forms and space. The start of post modern architecture was Le Corbusiers Candigar (1956) and La Chapelle de Ronchamp (1956). These two works broke from the box form which had been pursued in mechanical aesthetics, and made informal architectural forms using the property of concrete. Frederick Kiesler expresses his endless concept in Endless House with dual continuous structures of an outer wall and an inner wall made with concrete or plastic, and a composition of spatial links between rooms. Floor, ceiling and walls are all continued into a lump, and there are irregular and informal holes on the part which is thought as walls. Kieslers informality indicates a tendency of free style, getting the utmost out of the plasticity of concrete.8 Most of the early architecture which tried to break the box-type architecture, wanted to get out of the modernism-based functional architecture both in forms and philosophy. One of the representative architectures of such trend is deconstructive architecture. Peter Eisenman, who first adopted deconstruction, which appeared as a philosophic topic, to architecture, tried to realize architecture which is out of being focused on center or human beings, which is in other words, a concept of placing human beings somewhere out of the center of the world, through deconstructive architecture. Among deconstructive architectural works of Peter Eisenman, the series of experimental houses on informality is highly valued as one of the significant experiments, which makes people think about the issues of the existing box-type space concept and territory once again. Movement, circulation and reiteration seen in his deconstructive architecture are examples that show the post-cubism phenomenon in a logical manner. Eisenman tried a change in scales in House 1 located in Princeton, New Jersey, where two spaces are divided into a public space and a private spice. While the frame of the house is rooted on a rectangular parallelepiped, it shows a phenomenon that structurally unnecessary structures are exposed inside and outside of the building. In House 2, he tried a combination of the pillars and the inner space that formed the housing space, and tired to express an impression that the upper part of the house was separated from the floor by adopting concepts of adding and deleting. In House 3, unlike in House 1 and House 2, he tried to study the meaning of space by separating central axes of two forms. House 1 is one rectangular parallelepiped, House 2 is a combination of two rectangular parallelepipeds, and House 3 is a combination of two rectangular parallelepipeds in a slant line of 45. In House 6, stairs were set up asymmetrically, and spaces were reiterated into many layers. In House 10, he tried a space of post-cubism through a concept of resolution in the stage of designing. Through House 11 and House El Even Odd, Eisenman adopted the space concept of post-cubism to deconstructive
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Jeong Sung Hun, A Study on the Compositional Principles and Expressional Characteristics in Informal Form of Deconstructivist Architecture, Kyungnam University, Department of Architecture, Dec. 2000, p. 32.

architecture with reiterating slant lines and changes in forms. Eisenmans approach to houses intends to exclude intentionality displacement of intention or purposemeaning that no place can be expected in advance. This means that any kind of search can no longer be swayed by teleology. Such a trend to displace teleology is what Derrida called an affirmative architecture of Nietzschean meaning. Therefore, architecture should neither be reduced by its purpose nor become something that can be explained by its purpose any more.9 4.3 Non-territorial Space and Deconstructive Architecture The endless concept was first advocated through Endless Theatre which was presented in Vienna, 1923, and further developed targeting residential space since houses of space in 1933-1944. Endless House presented in New York in 1950, expressed the endless concept through its composition of spatial links of each room in a dual continuous structure of the outer wall and inner wall.10 Therefore, Kiesler denied the concepts of horizon and vertical, the relation between function and form and commercial thoughts on investment and profits, that ruled the modern architecture, and tried to dismantle a fixed idea on architecture through spatial continuity. Open House of Coop Himmelblau, a deconstructionist architect, shows a tendency of composing a form through the breakdown on geometry, surpassing the stage of fabricating geometry. The leaning pillar and a sharp volume on the right side of his Open House are dynamically balanced, which bring about an illusion of a flying object that is just about to take off from the ground.11 The characteristics of Coop Himmelblaus architecture is that the demolition of forms and separation from territory are used as architectural frames in order to express non-territorial space. However, Frank O. Gehry another deconstruction architect, adopts a literary and plastic form as a method of deconstruction. He deconstructs partly by breaking the outer form of an existing building, and then leaves the element of the form derived from the part in an incomplete state, or throws something on the floor and deconstructs a part of it broken or a sharp corner of it once again. This way, he created his own plastic element. In particular, Gehrys deconstruction architecture chooses an architectural method that does not bind imperfect plastic forms or elements to certain rules of frames.12 Such a deconstruction-based geometric space does not try a clear separation of wall, ceiling and floor. The meaning of space is not set up by its function but created by its free form. Just as the territory of space cannot be formal like Euclidian geometry or end only with fixed numbers in mathematics, the forms in expression of space are infinite. Therefore, if Kieslers endless space concept has suggested the non-territorial feature of space, one can say that deconstruction architecture has suggested the informality of space as well as the non-territorial feature of space.

5. Conclusion As seen in the results of this study, the endless space concept of Kiesler was a rebellion against modernism-based functional space concept which overwhelmed the 1920s. Kieslers idea has a significance in viewing space as a search for the infinity of universe, surpassing its functions. The advent of the modern times based on natural science after experiencing the replacement of the naturalism-based world view to the god-centered world in the ancient times, brought about many philosophical controversies. However, in the trend Kim Kyung Hee, A Study on the Deconstructive Living Space in Modern Architecture, Kookmin University, Department of Interior Design, 2003, p. 41. 10 The Modern Architecture Series, GA, 1999, p. 88. 11 Jeong Sung Hun Ibid. p. 44. 12 Yoon Jae Eun, A Study on the Relationship of Exterior Design and Interior Design in the Architecture of
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of modern architecture pursued by Walter Gropius, Mise vander Rohe and :Le Corbusier, great artists of modern architecture, it is noticeable that Kiesler, alone, interpreted the concept of space in a different point of view. Kiesler tried to realize his endless space concept in architecture, exhibition and stage design in many of his works including Space Stage (1924), the International Fair of New Theatre Technology (1924), the International Theatre Fair (1926), City in space (1925), Saks Fifth Avenue Window Display (1929), Paris Endless (1947), Grotto for Meditation (1963), The Shrine of the Book (1965), as well as Endless House and Endless Theatre. It has been known that Kieslers pioneer role very intensely influenced the post-modern architectural trends and philosophy that were raised in architecture after the 1960s. As many deconstruction architects pursue informal and non-territorial space as a breakthrough from the existing metaphysical thoughts since Plato, it is worth noticing that Kieslers endless space concept suggested as a pioneer the issue of spatial territory that is now pursued in the 21C.

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16. Kim, Won Gap, Architecture and Deconstruction, Sejinsa (2000) 17. Se, Wu Suck, Deconstruction by Derrida, Munhack & Jisungsa (1988)

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