PAM Public Lecture by Bart Lootsma, Electrification Takes Command

BART LOOTSMA, is a historian, critic, and curator in the fields of architecture, design, and the visual arts. He is a Professor for Architectural Theory and Head Institute for Architectural Theory, History and Heritage Preservation at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. He was Guest Professor/ Visiting Professor/ Head of Scientific Research in various universitie and institutes in Europe. He held numerous seminars and lectured at different academies for architecture and art in the Netherlands. Bart Lootsma published numerous articles in magazines and books. Bart Lootsma is and was a member of several governmental, semi-governmental and municipal committees in different countries.

Bart Lootsma is a philosophy architect in the field of architecture. So, he was invited to PAM Public Lecture to talk about the “Electrification Takes Command”, it was because future architecture is all about technology, so the electrification is very important to the future of design and we will know how the electrification slowly involve in architecture.

The electrification of architecture such as wall, floor, ceiling, window, door, lock, fireplace, all under influence of computing and the Internet slowly evolve to develop a memory and maybe even primitive forms of intelligence. This development is presented as a kind of collective strive, which remains forever unachieved or unfulfilled: a fragmentary universe of very concrete pieces of a Utopia or Dystopia we have forgotten to formulate, think through and evaluate.

The Endless House by Friedrick Kiesler

The concept idea of Endless House is capable of probiding an optimum response to the varying social concerns and used of its occupants. The initial shape of this house shows a flattened spheroid which became a basic for his Manufesto of Correalism. The shape of the building whold allow ample light to reach every corner in the room without being broken by corners and interior walls of a conventional bulding.

Nowaday, architecture are rely on artificual appliance rather than the natural and raw one like natural ventilation, ligthing, entertaiment. This has caused in the lost of memory about the place as we can just rely on artificial.

"A home is not a house" said by Reyner Banham, the meaning behind this is defines the dead of architectual spacious quality by the mean of relying too much artificial appliances to create a big conflict in between them.

Architectural Relationship with Natural Experiments in Ecology

Architecture is playing an imporant rule with the nature, just like preserving the nature environment and making it as a part of architecture. "Be with the nature, it will never fail you" said by Frank Lloyd Wright, a true architecture should not be maintaied by own structure, it should come together with the environment and existing context, this will earn more significant and more advantages. Moreover, "I don't believe architecture has to speak too much. It should remain silent and let nature in the guise of sunlight and wind" said by Tadao Ando. Architecture should engage with the nature to bring the meaningful thing but not only aesthetic.

One of the good example to show the "Architecture+Nature" is Bergisel Ski Jump by Zaha Hadid. She is using the advantages of the landsacpe to create a new activity, attracting more people and bring the place more lively. It is the result of bleding architecture into the existing environment.

Bergiesel Ski Jump by Zaha Hadid

Zaha Hadid Ski Jump project is a good example of bringing landscape together with architecture, resuilting a total win situation, making good used of the landscape and knowing the opportunity from the nature. Zaha Hadid well used of the topography to create the activity not only in outdoor but also can play with the building.

Architecture has the ability to create a new activity, like ice skiing activity on the higher ground of resort and together with the bicycle sports at the bottom of mountain, both of them created a urban activity.

Architecture is importance for human, which create an activity by following the function and usage, just like the architecture theory " Form followed Function".

After I had a lecture of this, I had more understanded how important architecture should merge with nature. Architecture make a place into a better place, and create a space for the user so it must be appreciated by the user, so this make them feel imporant in the field or architecture and process of electrification will never end and it bring will the better future architecture.

Photo with Ar. Bart Lootsma after the Q&A session.