Allure of the Incomplete, Imperfect, and Impermanent: Designing and Appreciating Architecture as Nature

Rumiko Handa
London & New York: Routledge, 2015
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/903509996 

 

Architects have long operated based on the assumption that a building is 'complete' once construction has finished. Striving to create a perfect building, they wish for it to stay in its original state indefinitely, viewing any subsequent alterations as unintended effects or the results of degeneration. The ideal is for a piece of architecture to remain permanently perfect and complete. This contrasts sharply with reality where changes take place as people move in, requirements change, events happen, and building materials are subject to wear and tear. 

 

 

PhD Dissertation title: Design through Drawing: Eero Saarinen's Design in the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Competition
Completed: 1992
Supervisor: Marco Frascari