PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AS A GENERATOR FOR CHANGE IN ARCHITECTURAL IDENTITY:
The Revitalization of the Old Pietermaritzburg Railway Station into a Main Transport Interchange
35 | P a g e
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AS A GENERATOR FOR CHANGE IN ARCHITECTURAL IDENTITY:
The Revitalization of the Old Pietermaritzburg Railway Station into a Main Transport Interchange
36 | P a g e
“A harmony between building and human culture brought about through the mediation of artistic ornament”. (Botticher as cited in Schwarzer, 1993, p.267)
2.5.2 The Early Approach
Reference to colonial architectural style is critical in understanding that these buildings, although seen by the colonized as being symbols of oppression, did express architectural merit in their ability to perform well within the artistic and architectural platform. British colonial architecture developed a concern with architectural representation and communication which followed through in their buildings built in the then colonized South Africa.
“Architecture was conceived to be a representational form of art” (Kaufman, 1987, p.30)
Botticher’s approach is seen as an amalgamation of Historicism, Phenomenology and Tectonics in that the period and style in which the building was designed had its association with Historicism; then you have the spatial make-up of the building in terms of its functional performance tied to that of Phenomenology with particular focus on the approach to ‘space’; and lastly the approach to the buildings ornamental detail and structure which lends itself to Tectonic Expression.
Botticher recommended in Schwarzer (1993), that when architects design a building, they should undertake an analysis of social and physical forces that would ultimately influence that design. This is paramount in our everyday approach to architectural design whereby social and cultural issues play an important role in the formulation of space, which has a direct influence on form. “the needs that instigate its plan, its roof covering, and its vertical supports, that together result in the creation of architectural form and space” (Botticher as cited in Schwarzer, 1993, p.267).
Period style through architectural evolution over time has been rejected and substituted with a concern for space and form resonating from basic design principles like geometrical proportioning and rhythm, amongst others, in order to produce buildings of a unique style that are relevant to their socio- economic and cultural conditions. There also has to be a real drive towards employing technologically advanced materials and technologies similar to that of Central Europe and Asia, to name a few, which creates an ‘eye catching’ aesthetical appeal.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AS A GENERATOR FOR CHANGE IN ARCHITECTURAL IDENTITY:
The Revitalization of the Old Pietermaritzburg Railway Station into a Main Transport Interchange
37 | P a g e
2.5.3 The Modern Tectonic
This concern with aesthetical appeal and technological advancement leads this discussion towards the implementation of a modernistic approach to building design, as expressed by various theorists one of which was Karl Friedrich, who strove to create buildings of their time unique to the societies they resided in (Schwarzer, 1993).
Modernism allows the designer to implement a radical Tectonic theoretical approach in order to exploit the buildings ability and showcase its uniqueness in comparison to other buildings of a similar typology especially when expressing the various structural elements, choice of materials and arrangement of space. Carlo Scarpa’s work is chosen as exemplary because “each detail tells us the story of its making, of its placing, of its dimensioning” Nesbitt, 1996. p.498). Innovation and invention is only possible through detail which results in harmonious spaces (Frascari cited in Nesbitt,1996).
There are however, some critics in particular theorists like Kenneth Frampton who opposed the modernistic tectonic theoretical approach and believe in a much more direct approach to that of the excessive complexity of detail found in modern buildings. Schwarzer (1993) states that some of today’s theory of tectonics is a compilation that seems in total contradiction to postmodernism.
Again in returning to the purpose of colonialism and the psychological effect of colonial public buildings on the colonized, one can argue that apart from the segregation policies within the building footprint itself which was pivotal in ensuring that White racist domination remained effective from a psychological perspective, there was also the issue of intimidation by the over-scaled buildings.
"The size and scale of structures such as buildings cannot be divorced from the discourses of domination and intimidation” (Dovey, 1999 as cited in Njoh, 2008).
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AS A GENERATOR FOR CHANGE IN ARCHITECTURAL IDENTITY:
The Revitalization of the Old Pietermaritzburg Railway Station into a Main Transport Interchange
38 | P a g e
Plate 3, Radford, 2002, Pietermaritzburg Colonial Building, Local History Museums Collection, Durban
Dovey explains that this exaggerated physical scale belittles its human subject (Dovey, 1999 as cited in Njoh, 2008). Public buildings of the modernistic movement have dealt with the issue of grandeur and scale in a more sensitive manner so as not to be seen as enforcing the ideologies of the regime.
Contrary to what was stated about public buildings being of a grand nature, which is true in most instances, the old Pietermaritzburg train station public building is miniature in scale when comparing it to the rest of the city’s grand public buildings (Plate 3), resulting in its size offering no form of intimidation in relation to human scale.
Train station buildings should be centre’s of distinction, balancing the constraints of scale in order not to appear domineering and monstrous but to be representational of the vast scale associated with the public transport industry. Photo 5 is an illustration of the large scale building by Thomas Herzog, at the Hanover Trade Fair, which has been scaled down with the incorporation of simple ‘boxed’
protrusions. The tectonic theoretical approach should not only be carried through in the detailing of the train stations structure or its enormous facade but in its spatial planning as well, from the main entrance hall through to the platforms. The structure is being manifested or expressed in a poetic manner (Frampton cited in Nesbitt, 1996, p.520).
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AS A GENERATOR FOR CHANGE IN ARCHITECTURAL IDENTITY:
The Revitalization of the Old Pietermaritzburg Railway Station into a Main Transport Interchange
39 | P a g e
Photo 5, Herzog, 1996, Hanover Trade Fair: Germany-Thomas Herzog, Frampton, 2007
The new train station should feed off a Tectonic theoretical approach which commences with the basic principles of designing a typology of this nature whilst at the same time ensuring that the architectural language is that of a modernistic approach. In the fifties and sixties, architects like Franco Albini and Carlo Scarpa to name a few, used a Tectonic theoretical approach in the use of materials and details as the principle support in their designs. However, this has been simmered down over the years and only used today as a guiding concept (Gregotti cited in Nesbitt, 1996, p.498).
2.6 ‘Architectural Identity’ Through ‘Visual Connection’
The theory of Tectonic Expression has a deep connection with the concept of ‘Visual Connection’
which should be evident in the ‘architectural identity’ which is appreciated by the commuter through the architectural detailing, at the point of arrival at the train station.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AS A GENERATOR FOR CHANGE IN ARCHITECTURAL IDENTITY:
The Revitalization of the Old Pietermaritzburg Railway Station into a Main Transport Interchange
40 | P a g e
Train station typologies are grand in nature which should be portrayed in this building ensuring its dominance and prominence but without making it seem like at has been imposed on the site. The train station should be iconic in nature by not conforming only to the norms of basic design but by applying a poetic yet drastic architectural approach in pushing the boundaries. The architect should journey into a realm of opportunities through the use of ‘visual connection’ allowing an exploration of the extremities of the design of a typology of this nature in both construction methods and material use and its impact on the users thus generating a sense of ‘architectural identity’.
“The perception of the architectural space achieved in this way is the result of the association of the visual images of details gained through the phenomenon of indirect vision, with the geometrical proposition embodied in forms, dimensions and location developed by touching and by walking through buildings” (Nesbitt, 1996, p.506).