Louis Khan's Salk Institute for Biological Studies: Understanding Tectonic Expression

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Modern Architecture
The interpretations of modern architecture have attracted inputs from varying factions. More prominent in the analyses of modern architecture is Kenneth Frampton's "Rappel a L'ordre, the Case for the Tectonic." Frampton explores modern architecture through the tenets of techne. While its applications may imply modernity, the use of techne in architecture can be traced back to its origin in Greece, encompassing skill, art, and craft in object development. Materiality and construction techniques employed in buildings have been used to define techne. Contemporarily, techne has been used about technology in architecture. Technology, however, extends to encompass the making and application of tools and techniques to solve architectural problems. Notable in the word "technology" is the construction entailing resource manipulation.
Frampton's inputs in techne have been used to explore different aspects of architecture. In the text, the author uses tectonic expression to refer to that which relates to construction. In that construct, the definition of tectonic is building construction in general. However, it extends to encompass amplification of its presence to the assembly. In light of the definition of tectonic, Frampton calls for the return of irreducible structural units as the valid architectural form. With that, modern architecture will instil the visual expressions of both the construction and structural elements.
Frampton's inputs in tectonic are drawn from notable architectural inputs. He draws his analysis of tectonic from Heidegger. That reference implies that tectonic essence is in the development of that which is revealing. Hence, a tectonic expression in objects should reveal articulation of detail and joints, clarity of structure, and logic of construction. Frampton continues to argue that architecture that stems from tectonic expression resists against the postmodern decorated shed. The other elements that tectonic expression refutes in postmodern architecture are corrupting and eroding consumer culture as well as homogenization of the built environment. Besides emphasizing the stylistic elements of an object, a tectonic expression should reveal the crafts of making, structural logic, and properties of the materials.
The relationship between technology and nature cannot be underestimated in every attempt towards understanding tectonic expression. The concept of this relationship is expressed by Loius Khan with the declaration that "a building is like a human. An opportunity to build equates to creating a life. How joints and knuckles synchronize to make each limb beautiful and interesting. The elements of architecture should not be hidden. Space forms part of the architectural work if people can perceive and comprehend it." According to Khan, a building should be sophisticated in that it takes the form of a human body while still expresses attachment to the natural environment and surroundings. In Frampton's analysis, the sophistication that portrays a building as both a representation of a human and a reflection of the environment is referred to as critical regionalism. In critical regionalism, architects must offer attention to the geographical tenets of a building, including light, climate, and topography, to counter homogenization. While assessing tectonic expression and technology as linked to an idea nature, this paper inspects Louis Khan's Salk Institute for Biological Studies.
Various factors have contributed both individually and collectively to the systemic revitalization of architecture. In the 20th century, developments that included general mechanization, technological advancements, industrialization, and the harnessing of energy resources bore notable impacts on the development of architecture. The inputs of technology in architecture have since been unavoidable. Such developments marked the foundation of the integration of advanced technology in architecture. With the inputs of technology in buildings, transformations were evident in the incorporation of structural and material frameworks, exposing the technological service and accommodation of technology in design. Spatial forms can be revealed in the technological construction forms employed in the building, reflection of the materials, and exposing technical utilities.
The integration of technical utilities into structural forms is expressed in Khan's approach in Salk Institute. Salk Institute can be shown as a composition of volumes and planes that mediates the relationships between light and dark, material and space, and mass and void. Salk Institute constitutes two low-rise symmetrical concrete rectangular masses separated by a courtyard, with each portion interjected by five freestanding towers. As the towers housed the research rooms, the concrete rectangular masses were designed for the labs. The former was situated in independent structures with a staggering height half a floor relative to the main building. A scientist would make a mental shift from the physical relationships from experimentation to research writing as per the objectives of Khan. Khan's under...