Frampton's discussion of the Bauhaus reveals the enduring tension underlying the endeavor of "liberating" architecture from the "arrogant banner between craftsman and artist." Throughout his accounting of the school's formative years this struggle over the economic function of architecture refuses to resolve itself given conflicting notions of the relationship between design and a mass public newly served by mass production. We might tie this to the debate ongoing in the varied representations of architecture presented by Rattenbury in that architecture must respond to the advancement of production processes that births modernism also in its progression in how it is to be represented. Specifically I think of the relationship between the Bauhaus and advertising and how the movement parallels the advent of a mass culture. The experience given us by photography and advertising can be heavily read in Le Corbusier's photographs, for example, making apparent the connection between the built form and consumptive culture which suggest a specific lifestyle. Robert Venturi's ironic counterpoint thus seems a harsh rebuke to "high architecture"'s attempt to separate art from economy.

on Rattenbury

It is interesting to me the control the architect has by framing their images in a certain way, not only creating a presentation that signifies the architect as artist and the building as art but also controlling the way we engage with the object "They tell us not only how the world might be, but how we might look at it." We share a common gaze and must work with what we are given to complete the structure in our mind (depending on frequent flier miles) I am also fascinated by the way our perception of information trasfer has changed as new mediums become more efficient.Piranesi's etchings at one point were at the fore front of technology and it it sometimes necessary to reflect on how much can be represented by simple line drawings.

Mau has a sort of anti-laissez faire concept in terms of design and his ideas on economies of information are inspiring. While he stresses collaborative design processes aimed toward a practical objective, it's not exactly clear who is going to make or pay for all of this stuff.

In the Rattenbury reading, I was most taken by the idea that no media is complete or unbiased. The idea that every material represents something different from the very get-go. In a way, that seems perfectly natural; of course different materials express different ideas. But it's good to articulate that all materials have certain limitations in what they can express.

The impetus behind the Bauhaus movement can be seen as an attempt to grasp their epoch and develop a practice that reflected the demands of an emerging society of mass consumption and a changing world of geopolitical forces after World War II. They desired a form that could appeal to large numbers of people and that could be produced on an industrial scale. "In the face of economic plight it is our task to become producers of simplicity, that is, to find a simple form for all life's necessities, which is at the same time respectable and genuine" (Frampton 2). This humble, yet perhaps quixotic, statement offers an interesting contrast to todays world of producer and consumer, corporation and NGO.

Fast forward >>>

Bruce Mau's book Massive Change opens us to a new way of thinking about and practicing design. However, it embraces certain aspects of late capitalism and advanced globalization that may require more in-depth inquiry. Specifically concerning the role of the designer, the social reality of access to advanced technologies, and the intrinsic quality of designer products, such as nano-tech and genetic modification, to be co-opted and monopolized by multinational corporations.

"This research into the nature of objects leads to the conclusion that by resolute
consideration of modern production methods, constructions, and materials, forms will evolve that are often unusual and surprising, since they deviate from the conventional..." > Walter Gropius

Just as the Bauhaus created a movement that has changed the face of design, I think that Mau offers us a vision into the near future of a market driven by a need for rapid change in the face of energy crisis and global warming. The topologies of these emerging economies may offer alternatives to may of the challenges facing especially third world nations and countries in geographically compromised locations. But as Mau so catchingly phrases it "Now that we can do anything, what will we do?"

In response to the first paragraph of Bodhi's post, I agree that design is also man grappling with and attempting to define/refine his reality.
Unfortunately, there will always(?) be dissent and a lack of the total unity that could supremely propel our designs from theory or fragment into a glowing, encompassing nimbus, "for the greater good."
That said, what if we were to achieve a single, supreme unifying objective (or state of being) toward which we altruistically bent mankind- and our bent is eventually shown to be flawed?

so my computer just shat a full hour's worth of musing without a save...the horror of lost contemplations
I must soldier on...topics lost forever... mutter mutter

anyways, once more on Rattenbury,
who had me going and going-

I found Jonathan Hill's response to the Barcelona Pavilion provocative, in that he constantly questioned the veracity of the images that represented the Pavilion to the world and to posterity; and he seemed affronted by the architect's intention to create and present a space of (perfect?) reverence and contemplation.
Implicit in the text is that the pavilion is less useful than it is beautiful, and his closing statement speaks of hubris and of the building somehow failing the public- "The history of the Pavilion implies that contemplation is the experience most appropriate to buildings, affirming the authority of the architect and denying that of the user."
I think Mr. Hill is denying the purpose of THIS building. the Barcelona Pavilion is not and never was a mere pagoda in some siteless pocket park. It was erected as an artistic vision, a stylistic expression, and for the representation of an entire nation, and in all of those considerable aims it was successful.
It is true that the clarity of the sketch (told photographically),
as both bold, beautiful perspectives and a polarized lens for viewing them, for lack of permanence hs become the experience...
and that experience is one of artistic contemplation in a pristine, austere environment...
But i think it is also true
That it is OKAY for the Pavilion to be so contemplative, for its very nature is an artistic vision
organized and rendered in marble and water
and the judicious wealth and refinement of palette
describe an experience inclined toward reverent
and Mr Hill ought not be offended that people take it as such.
This building DID affirm Mies as a seminal modernist architect, but save for lack of a WC I fail to see where and what the user is denied in this powerful and provocative planar play on material and space.

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