In this blog post, we will explore the relationship between architecture and architectural engineering and the need for integration at the intersection of human-centered space design and scientific structural design.
There is an ancient legend about a temple. According to the legend, whoever untangled a tightly knotted rope would rule the world. Alexander cut the rope with a sword and declared, “I have untangled the rope, so I rule the world!” The tightly knotted rope in this story symbolizes complex problems, much like the relationship between architecture and architectural engineering. In ancient and medieval times, the boundaries between these two disciplines were unclear, and they were intertwined as a single problem. However, in modern times, architectural problems have become more complex, and there is now a tendency to separate them into architectural problems and architectural engineering problems and solve them as if cutting a rope with a sword. Architecture primarily deals with the relationship between space and people in architecture and studies the problems of creating the form and space of buildings.
Although architecture belongs to the field of science and engineering, its essence is closer to the humanities or arts. This is because architecture creates space and form through humanistic, social, and philosophical thinking. The Sumiyoshi House by Tadao Ando is a representative example of a design based on such humanistic and philosophical thinking. This house was designed to provide residents with a sense of nature by placing a central garden at its center. However, this resulted in a narrow living space and the inconvenience of having to use an umbrella to move between the kitchen and bathroom on rainy days. Despite this inefficiency, the Sumiyoshi House embodies the philosophical idea that what humans need is naturalness, rather than the efficiency and convenience valued in modern society. In this way, architecture in architecture is created by understanding humans and space through humanistic philosophical thinking.
On the other hand, architectural engineering deals with the engineering aspects of architecture. Architectural engineers calculate the number of reinforcing bars to be used in columns based on numerical data and scientific experiments, and determine the shape of columns and beams. Additionally, architectural engineering addresses issues such as selecting appropriate lighting, ventilation systems, and air conditioning to create comfortable light, air, and temperature environments. Architectural engineering designs and plans buildings based on an engineering paradigm, and scientific methodology plays an important role in this process.
In this way, architecture consists of the humanities-based architectural studies and the engineering-based architectural engineering. However, there are no buildings that contain only architectural content or only architectural engineering content. This is because buildings that are biased toward one side cannot perform their proper functions. Nevertheless, as the field of architecture has diversified, specialists who focus exclusively on either architecture or architectural engineering have emerged. As a result, those who study architecture often lack engineering knowledge, while those who specialize in architectural engineering may struggle to grasp the humanistic and philosophical aspects required in architecture. This leads to buildings that are overly focused on either architectural or engineering aspects.
The recently controversial ultra-luxurious government offices and district offices in Korea are examples of buildings that are overly focused on architectural content. These buildings were designed with glass exteriors to symbolize transparency in government offices, but this resulted in buildings that are hotter in summer and colder in winter.
The increased heating and cooling loads have prevented the buildings from properly fulfilling their basic shelter function. Similarly, if engineering technology is not considered when designing a building, it may lose its inherent function. However, just as a soulless body is nothing more than a corpse, a building constructed solely with technology and lacking humanistic and philosophical content is no different from a lifeless corpse.
The Pruitt-Igoe housing complex in St. Louis, designed by Minoru Yamasaki, was hailed as a model for 21st-century housing complexes at the time of its design, but it eventually became a slum. The housing complex was demolished in 1972 as a measure to reduce crime rates.
The failure of Pruitt-Igoe demonstrates that architecture requires not only engineering efficiency but also a spirit that considers human emotions and social context. Architecture is inherently an issue that cannot be separated into engineering and the humanities. Architecture that achieves balance without leaning toward either side can be called excellent architecture. Architecture and architectural engineering are like ropes intertwined with each other.
Architecture is not about dividing these intertwined ropes into two separate strands but about untangling them into a single, cohesive whole. Just as it was said that those who untangle the ropes of ancient temples rule the world, those who untangle the tightly knotted ropes of architecture and architectural engineering into a single, cohesive strand will truly master architecture. This task of untangling the knotted ropes is precisely what architecture must grapple with.
