FUNCTION vs FORM

The Modernist Philosophy & Architectural Debate

From the past to the present, form follows function has been debated
ceaselessly. Some argue that form follows function; but some of people do not
think so. Of course, issues are bound to have positives and negatives. So,
when people say form follows function; some people say why not function
follows form. Looking at the present form of architecture, there is enough
evidence that function follows form, for without an understanding of form,
architecture loses its value. This presumes that it is accepted by the general
public and actually we can escape from the traditional principle, form follows
function. In short, form and function is not in a happy marriage but it does
work.

The aim of this essay is to discuss the modernist dogma ‘form follows
function. A piece of good architecture is meant to create a better functional
design in the course of lifestyle, amusement, work, study, and so on. Hence,
all design decisions at the architectural level should be made within the
context of the functional, ergonomic, and social requirements of the system
being designed, which is a principle that equally to form follows function. The
theory of form follows function could be implicated to evolution, economics,
culture tradition, and aesthetic. They are closely linked with form, to produce
different visual effect and results.

'Functions': Do they precede forms?

‘Form follows function’ or ‘function follows form’. Which came first? This
depends on how we can compare between the two of them. The design
principle, "form follows function" can be confirmed from hundreds of years of
experience with successful building projects. It is continued to use until
nowadays and it certainly has its rational line of thought.

Form has to be combined with the function. In traditional principles, the

function of the building purpose for why people use the building drives the
form. But at the same time it’s the formal conditions of environment, climate,
building materials and other forces that begin to propose how the purpose
reflects its users. Other point of view are other factors like the vision of the
architect, the multiple functions, and the users.

Besides, function leads the designer to narrow down the options and provide
a beginning point; to help them more easily to complete their project. If the
form does not bind with the function then the function might end up being not
usable.
Function needs form in order to archive its aim; the form needs function too.
Form without function is just a pretty piece sculptural art, with no meaning.
Whoever designs buildings undoubtedly has a mind to satisfy your functional
needs. Further, the designer intends the overall form of the buildings to fit their
purpose and arrange that purpose aesthetically. That implies that function is
something that precedes the form that it exists independently of form and that
it is there before form takes shape.

If we just focus on the view of evolutionism, we found every form has a

purpose to evolve, form follows function and evolution is actually work hand in
hand. In the universal view of evolution by natural selection, in which new
variations in the environment and time, function always follows form. Louis
Sullivan, an America architect who was keen on the basic principle ‘form
follows function. In 1896, in Sullivan’s article ‘The tall office building artistically
considered’, he states that:

‘It is the pervading law of all things organic and inorganic, of all things physical
and metaphysical, of all things human and all things superhuman, of all true
manifestations of the head, of the heart, of the soul, that the life is
recognizable in its expression, that form ever follows function. This is the law’.

From his works we could know his thinking was deeply influenced by Darwin.
In Darwin’s theory of evolution, every form in a plant or animal has a purpose
in that species' survival that enables a species to compete better in the wild.
Therefore, all the faulty species are eliminated gradually over time. Here
Sullivan (1896) quotes that:

‘In nature, all shapes express the inner life, the native quality, of the animal,
tree bird, fish, that they present to us; they are so characteristic, so
recognizable, that we say, simply, it is ‘natural’ it should be so’.

So, form follows function is pre-determined. Moreover, the form of a building

must be a consequence of its purpose. If no form follows function, the roof of
the house would not be gable type in order to avoid accumulation of water

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when it was raining. This statement showed Darwin’s theory leading us with
evolution; it is also the case that form follows function.

Beauty controlled by cost

The evolution of time creates different kind of decorative style’s facade shop
houses, which emerged from Neoclassical to Bauhaus. In the late 1910 the
two dictum of "form follows function" and "ornament is a crime" were widely
used by the Bauhaus’s designers. They disseminated rationality, functionality,
simplified forms, and mass-production. In short, form is dominated by cost.

The form has to follow the function therefore unnecessary decorations are
omitted. And this is what we see now. About 77 per cent of people are
unwilling to pay more money to their house design because they generally
believe that good design can also have low-cost. That is proved that it is in
line with Bauhaus’s purpose.

View of culture
Architectural culture is very important to us. Our ancestors put different value
on forms. And this value heavily depends on cultural perspective and
conventions. That means culture that reflects people’s life and their use of
objects need to be comprised in the form. And the form of a building must
show the culture or story of its life. If not, our culture will be bogged down or
disappear. Generations do not know what ancestors left it to them and what
the meaning behind. This can be demonstrated by the example of traditional
architecture here in India.

Traditional Indian architecture reflected not only beauty, but also incorporated
various cultural aspects of ethnic groups that can be appreciated by all
generations as well as visitors. Moreover, houses showed the diverse ways in
which people have adapted to their environment, lifestyle, ritual, and beliefs.
In other words, their residences followed their lifestyle to make a change
accordingly. That is what has mentioned before, form follows function.
The houses were built by the various ethnic groups themselves to ensure
quality and authenticity of each of these houses. They also reflect the skills of
the local people in the past in utilizing existing building materials from their

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environment. The site of a house’s organization may be influenced by the sun
and the river a fresh supply of water.

Why not function follows form?

The opposite view is that 'form follows function' is merely a functionalist

approach and it lacks aesthetic appeal. The aspect of art always provides
more than one option. Form follows function tends to kill the contribution of art
in design. If one does not follow the principle of ‘form follows function’ then a
tall building located anywhere and everywhere, all would look the same and
there would be no role of aesthetics. Just as three famous modern architects
of 20th century- Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, and Frank Lloyd Wright,
are 3 architects who, most notably stand to this principle. They all had their
own particularly styles to use in different building materials to interpret
function. Mies used steel and glass, Corbusier used concrete, and Frank
emphasized wood or concrete block.

Of course, architecture has always looked for the way to transcend its own
history. Contemporary architecture is not the exception but it has lost one of
its basic principles for good. For example, National Stadium, Beijing, which
while innovative in concept, is famously poor for its "function." In the other
words, the innovative concept that designer had, expressly covers up
functionality of the stadium should have.

Beijing National Stadium as known as the Bird's Nest, was designed by Swiss
architecture firm Herzog. The stadium was designed for use throughout the
2008 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. The concept of the stadium is
based on three notions which were technology, energy conservation, and
cultural conversation. It all looks perfectly in line with the concept of nowadays
building design but it lost its original aims when the designer has decided to
priority of sculptural form giving over the stadium needs of function.

Bird’s Nest design emphasis novelty and technology, so they used a lot of
new technology and materials. It seems a great design but it ultimately failed.
It has an amazing night view. Surprisingly, during the day time, the audiences
cannot watch the match because there is shadow on all sides!

Therefore, they installed double translucent membrane at the top to solve this
problem. The membranes got 30 percent of light admission only. As the same

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time, it showed that the interior of stadium would be not lit enough despite
them using solar power generation system. In the case of energy
conservation, the designer did not much to think over the climate of Beijing
either. There are four seasons but the solar power generation system does
not work in the seasons or times without sunlight, and they still need to use
electricity to maintain the brightness of the stadium. It does not carry energy
conservation and environment friendly points.

According to the China’s Xin Hua News Agency, the person in charge of the
stadium indicated that the complex structure of the stadium caused
maintenance cost up to 6,000 million dollars per year. It is difficult to obtain a
profit after Olympic ceremonies. And this important project for the Olympics
had invested seven billion dollars, just because of alleged new technology.
That is not in line with cost effectiveness.

On the other hand, the designer had not considered in the design of the
stadium. Clearly in the construction stage, the "Bird's Nest" roof problems
were proposed. As the Bird's Nest is a steel structure, it is extremely difficult to
construct. The original design has a roof but the load of the roof close to the
limit. It is very dangerous for safety issues. So, the expert advised to cancel
the original roof. In the new design, the stadium was to be covered but they
couldn't completely cover up whole stadium.

In addition, the stadium’s design did not show the Chinese spirit. The
Olympics was a good opportunity for the Chinese to let foreigners to
understand their country's culture. But they did not which is a very regrettable
thing. All these problems mentioned before, it is sufficient evidence to proves
the designer do not consider functionality, he was simply keen on his novelty
and newness and hence he neglected the important of the functional aspect.
So, in 'form follows function', problems like this might occur when functionality
is ignored.

What Forms in the future will look like:

People are beginning to realize importance of environmental protection and
are starting to follow in the footsteps of the green revolution. So, the global
future will be green architecture. An ecological lifestyle involves conscious
rising about the relationship between consumption today and the conditions
for future generation. It requires a balance between mankind’s conception, the
environment and the available resources.

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Urban ecologist and author of '"Surviving the Century - Facing Climate Chaos
and other Global Challenges, Herbert Girardet quotes:

"Green buildings are making giant strides now because of public debate and
new technology. Everyone may want to live a modern lifestyle but we know
we cannot continue wrecking the planet. We need to build houses that don't
need an outside energy supply."

Hence, ecological thinking must be a natural reflex for the architect of the
future. This is a response to the changing climate which demands new
buildings of increasing cut energy consumption and solid waste problems.
And that is what we had mentioned before- form follows function. In despite of
the future or the past, we cannot escape from the rule. The architect now has
to work on the basis of a new order where the building as a whole meets the
requirements and challenges of an ecological future, measuring ‘novelty’
materials in an aesthetic and social program.

Form follows GREEN

Green design, known as ecological design, uses design to include economic,

social and ecological sustainability. Besides green buildings are also
environment conscious design solutions where a sustainable form and
function are employed. Basically, a green building’s concept is based on
function also. Mostly people concentrated on construct and appearance of the
green building, neglecting material, which is also an important part in a
building. It reminds people about recycling to save the environment. Green
design is sustainable design as it is sustained by materials that can be
recycled.

The concept of sustainable building unifies multifarious strategies during the

process of building projects. The use of green building materials and products
is very widely diverse, which represents an important part in strategy at the
design level of a building. On the contrary, aesthetic has become secondary.
A building is designed for reduce solid waste problems, cut energy
consumption in manufacturing, impact of the built environment on human
health and save on natural resource use.

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Historic buildings blend with recycled materials
Most historic or old buildings emphasize exuberant and extravagant
decoration especially European architecture which emerged from
Neoclassical style. Decorative style design tended more to decoration and
aesthetic, neglect building needs and causing wasted spaces. But an old
building does not mean it is unprofitable. By reason of older building can be
refurbish and renovate so that they can continue to function as urban
elements to achieve the goals of green building. Besides, making good use of
old buildings can make environment sense, using and enhancing what already
have.

Green building is not just saving energy or else. It is also using product made
from recycled material when renovating or constructing a new building. Just
as India has a lot of heritage buildings also, but heritage buildings
conservation is not entirely commercially viable. It requires, on the contrary, a
skillful and large management and maintenance fee. So, why not get them
into green elements while retaining their historic character? Green renovations
include reduced energy consumption and durability of older and heritage
buildings. Respectful renovation in order to reduce the operating energy of a
building, making building renovation one of the most direct climate actions to
express environment protection. We need to look at strategies for renovation
while remaining their culture and heritage character in order to archive forms
and function to be one.

Besides that, the one more important thing that we have to admit is restoration
of an old building with recycled materials for all of us is still pretty new and it
is not accepted by most. People are still full of worries about it. According to a
survey, a significant number of people can accept renovation but they
generally felt that the maintenance costs of old buildings will be very
expensive. As a matter of fact, they lack of knowledge and understanding of
recycle and renovate.

Although some green materials cost higher than old buildings, there are still
many more green materials that cost still less than the standard. These green
materials have better designs for a new generation of environmentally friendly
products that are cost saving to produce. Many more of innovations today are
coming from green manufacturers. Furthermore, recycle building materials lies
in diminishing the need for industry to make a new product. All of the energy
that is spent in manufacturing and transporting something can be saved.
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The main reason to use recycled building materials is that some of the old
building materials still preserved their character elements, these can be
restore the cultural meanings. It can be used to preserve their identity while
enhancing functionality. On the other hand, material usage is connected to t
structure of the building. That means materials are one of the function as well.
It is what we mentioned before that forms and functions can be one.

Conclusion

Whatever be the case, we can’t escape tradition. To achieve the best of both
worlds are very difficult. The debate about form and function is a vexing
question. Some debate that form follows function, others, like architect Frank
Lloyd Wright believed that form and function are one.

However, in contemporary society there is sufficient evidence that function

follows form. Even so, there are some cases when form and function are one
in order to get a balance. That is what we are inclined to – green architecture.

A closer look at the notion of function and the dogma 'form follows function',
expressed why this impression proved to be so important. By the reason of
functionalism, the notion of function serves as a guide to design the form. It
guides the designer to narrow down the options and provides a starting point.
The form now has a purpose or duty, if you will, of projecting the function that
lies within. Just as a project has a problem to be solved rather than just
making it look pretty is the great challenge. Function needs form in order to
get a balance, as it works as hand in hand. So, if an object has to present a
perfect function, its design must be supportive of that function, and the best
form fitting form should be chosen.

And so we conclude that the idea of Form + Function does not necessarily
produce messy and discordant designs. the two are not 'theoretically
exclusive' i.e. there is no parallel line between the two. Rather, their
combination creates a sort of buffer zone. Form can follow Function without
ending in limited and repetitive common forms and Function can follow Form
without producing functionally failing buildings.

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