The Primitive Envelope

"The building envelope is possibly the oldest and most primitive architectural element. It materializes the separation of the inside and outside, natural and artificial and it demarcates private property and land ownership (one the most primitive political acts). When it becomes a façade, the envelope operates also as a representational device in addition to its crucial environmental and territorial roles." – Alejandro Zaera, “The Politics of the Envelope”

During his lecture “Twelve Ecologies of the Envelope” at Columbia University, Alejandro Zaera elaborates on his theory of building façade. Simply put, it is outdated and has been so for nearly 100 years. In the recent past, the envelope has been analyzed by architects as a two-dimensional interface. We have a tendency to design space in plan and section, studying program adjacencies and a building’s relationship with the ground beneath it. The façade is an afterthought, a symbolic wall separating the designed interior from the outside world. It is merely a problem of representation.

According to Zaera, this plane is no longer just a physical boundary – it is a literal embodiment of processes. New technical possibilities are so powerful and have increased the expectation of our clients. This advancement has led to façade specialization within the profession. Zaera began his lecture with a series of images from a façade contractor that he was working with. The images were in pairs, one showing a building rendering and the other showing its coinciding envelope mockup. The difference in quality between the mockup and rendering is enormous. The mockup is incredibly well drafted and sophisticated, showing both knowledge and research. These objects are more interesting than an image which cannot explain a structure in three dimensions.

I could not agree more with Zaera in this respect. When working on projects in downtown Charleston, you are always required to provide the BAR with a building mockup. This is an opportunity for the architect, the Board, and the public to physically understand a building before it is built. It requires the subcontractors to understand how they will be working together moving forward. It is interesting to see how often a building is either approved or rejected based solely on this mockup. At the end of the day, it does not matter the quality of your representational exterior renderings, if the façade is not successful than neither is the building.