Politics of the Envelope

 This week in class we talked about the politics of the envelope and how the interior is seen as a contemporary problem. There are those projects that mainly focus on the exterior and creating a beacon that attracts people to it, good or bad, through the use of materials, shape, and reaction to context on the exterior and keep a simple interior that serves it’s purpose. While there are those projects on the opposite end of the spectrum which have a very unassuming exterior that is kept simple and clean and then reveals this complex carved interior that makes the building have its own unique identity. It serves its purpose while drawing people to stay inside the building with such a rich interior space. 

 

I don’t think either of these approaches are a bad thing, it really depends on the clients preference for how their building is perceived from the public. A caveat to this either or situation is who is the building designed for? If it’s more for the public with a private use inside you would want the public to enjoy what they could of the building from the exterior while making it looking interesting and exciting from the outside. Whereas if it’s a public building maybe it needs to be more buttoned up on the exterior to fit into it’s context but can have a rich, interesting interior that the public is able to come into and enjoy. 

Glasgow School of Art | Steven Hall

Simple exterior, complex interior 

Botin Art Centre | Renzo Piano

Complex exterior, simple interior