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A conversation with Jean-Philippe Vassal
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Jean-Philippe Vassal, one half of the French architecture duo Lacaton & Vassal, is a huge Frei Otto fan and particularly influenced by his 1980s “Eco-houses” in Berlin. Architecture Theory Professor Georg Vrachliotis talked to him for uncube about designing open systems in architecture and ensuring maximum freedom for residents.
The work of Frei Otto has typically been analysed in two ways: from an architectural perspective focusing on form finding, and an engineering perspective exploring material, construction and structure. In what way did you first approach Otto’s work?
It was through a small book, Cómo construye la otra mitad (How to build the other half), published in Spain over 20 years ago, part of the series: Fisuras de la cultura contemporánea (Fissures of contemporary culture). Although it was not the first time I’d engaged with Otto’s work, this book was very important for me. In it he speaks of his own experience, particularly the back and forth process in the design and construction of the “Ökohäuser” or “Eco-houses” in Berlin’s Tiergarten. I didn’t know the project before and was fascinated by the way he’d designed the structures. I started to use the project as a major reference for my own office’s work, and also later when teaching classes at the Technical University Berlin. The Ökohäuser were part of the IBA – the Internationale Bauausstellung (International Building Exhibition) Berlin 1984/87. I heard that the relationship between Frei Otto and Paul Kleihues (the director of the IBA at the time) was quite difficult and challenging back then, and that there were a lot of issues concerning site and the experimental nature of the project.
All photos: Jean-Philippe Vassal.
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Video: Dreaming of a Treehouse, a documentary about the Ökohäuser. (Video courtesy of Beate Lendt, x!mage).
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Frei Otto actually planned a similar version of the Ökohäuser for New York’s Central Park in 1959, almost 20 years earlier: the so-called “Baumhäuser”, or Tree Houses. We have a wonderful model of them in the saai archive. Do you know the project?
No, but their structure seems comparable to the Habitat 67 project by Moshe Safdie. At Lacaton & Vassal we took a lot of inspiration from Ökohäuser, particularly when designing the Nantes School of Architecture, completed in 2009. The main concept for that project was to create a structure with huge capacity. That’s the reasoning behind the platforms. With a minimal budget we were able to generate the maximum possible space, more than doubling the project’s usable floor area from around 12,500 to 26,000 square metres.Can you explain more about the platforms?
The platforms are a sort of building system comparable to both Le Corbusier’s 1914 Domino open floor plan and John Habraken’s concepts of “support” and “infill”, as published in his 1962 book Supports, an Alternative to Mass Housing. Herman Hertzberger is also a key influence. Using platforms means first building a very simple three-dimensional structure and then generating the programme. In developing platforms we want to create the spatial conditions and open qualities of a loft, giving inhabitants a meaningful role in the process of adapting the space.
Are such projects comparable to the structures of Yona Friedman? In 1957 to 1958, he and Frei Otto initiated the Groupe d’étude d’architecture mobile (G.E.A.M.) to promote concepts of mobile and adaptable architecture.Of course. The influence of Friedman also plays a central role in our work. His building systems and theory of mobile architecture in particular have affected our own thinking about systems. I actually discussed Otto’s Berlin project with him.
You discussed Frei Otto’s Ökohäuser with Yona Friedman?
Yes. Just like me, Friedman was very interested in Frei Otto’s concept of adaptation. -
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Nevertheless, he said that he found the Ökohäuser’s structure too small. The residents immediately filled it up, leaving no open free-space remaining. Friedman also said he felt the system didn’t have enough flexibility for its residents. However, I think it’s a really fantastic project, especially given its location in the heart of Berlin, next to the Tiergarten. In fact, I’ve photographically documented every spatial condition and garden of the Ökohäuser, along with the living spaces of the residents. Did you know that Frei Otto didn’t cut down any trees to build the project? I think, in terms of current architectural discourse, this project is a very important one.
Do you still believe in flexibility in architecture?
Yes, I firmly believe in the idea that people should have freedom in their individual living space. No doubt being Greek, you’re familiar with the idea of the Polykatikia housing system in Athens in the 1930s, and later developed in the 1950s and 1960s. I really think there are similarities with our current approach concerning the flexibility of the plan. It’s all about producing open systems!
Frei Otto was not only an innovative architect, but also an intellectual, a radical public thinker who promoted the idea of the minimal in almost all aspects of our built environment. Do you think architects should be more radical today?
Absolutely, especially when it comes to questions of economy. But of course, there are many different ways of interpreting the idea of the minimal: material, structure, construction, budget, building costs, etc. For example, after studying architecture in Bordeaux, I worked as an architect and urban planner in Niger, West Africa from 1980 to 1985. In that time I learned that in the desert everything is about producing shade, using very simple structures and minimal material. So I began analysing the temporary, mobile constructions of nomadic people to better understand the idea of what we later called open systems. I think that to build cost effectively is one of the most crucial responsibilities for architects today.
Structuralist approaches had a great influence on your work. Are you suggesting we should rethink the design strategies of 1960s?
I am certain that the 1960s are still very important for us today. One of the key aims of architecture today is to keep the spirit of that time alive. -
Georg Vrachliotis is Professor for the Theory of Architecture at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), and previously lectured and conducted research at the Institute for History and Theory of Architecture (gta) and the Institute of Technology in Architecture at ETH Zurich from 2005 to 2011. He studied architecture at the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK) and was awarded his PhD at ETH Zurich in 2009. He has since taught at the Universities of Freiburg and Bremen, as well as at the Department of Architecture of the University of California at Berkeley. Since 2014 he has been head of the Archive for Architecture and Engineering in Southwest Germany (saai).
saai.kit.edu
Jean-Phillippe Vassal (*1954) is an architect and one of the two founders, with Anne Lacaton, of the Paris-based practice, Lacaton & Vassal. Born in Casablanca, Morocco, he studied at the Ecole d’Architecture in Bordeaux, where he gained his Diploma in Architecture in 1980. Between 1980 and 1985, he practiced as an architect and town planner in Niger in West Africa, before co-founding Lacaton & Vassal in 1987. The practice won the Grand Prix National d’Architecture Jeune Talent, France in 1999, and has subsequently become well known for their work in the cultural, educational and housing fields, including projects such as: the University of Arts and Social Sciences, Grenoble, (2001); Social housing, Mulhouse, (2005); the Nantes School of Architecture (2009); Social housing, Trignac, Saint-Nazaire, (2010); conversion of the Tour Bois le Prêtre housing block, Paris, (2011), Palais de Tokyo, Contemporary Department, Paris, (Phases 1 & 2, 2002 / 2012); FRAC North, Dunkirk, (2013). Vassal has taught extensively, and since 2012 has been Professor at the University of the Arts (UdK) in Berlin.
Sketch for a treehouse, by Frei Otto. (Image: © Atelier Frei Otto Warmbronn)
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