EXPRESSING TECHNOLOGY IN THE CONTEMPRORARY CULTURAL

CATHEDRAL; CASE STUDIES IN BILBAO AND CANBERRA.

J ohn Paul Swift
School of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Design,
University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005 - john.swift@adelaide.edu.au

ABSTRACT

Some architecture tries to define the spirit of an age in its most technologically advanced
incarnation. This definitive architecture can be seen as mediating the relationship between
advances in architectural technologies and cultural paradigms in which they were created.
Over many years this mediation therefore has produced many subtle parallels. In an
increasingly secular age the competition for the most audacious architectural forms has
moved to the area of the museum, a contemporary cathedral. Today the definition of the
cathedral is equally true for the museum, the contemporary place of pilgrimage.

This paper views this relationship through the lens of the design and construction of the
place of pilgrimage. It also explores the change in the forum of technological advances in
architecture from the cathedral to the museum. It explores the wider meaning of the
techniques used by Ashton Raggatt & McDougall in association with Robert Peck von Hartel
Trethowan, at the National Museum of Australia, Canberra (2001) and Gehry Associates at
the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, (1997) and the environment in which they were conceived
and constructed. This paper draws comparisons between the Gothic Cathedral and the
contemporary museum in the way architectural science is used in high-profile cultural
buildings.


INTRODUCTION

The cathedral is both an architectural marvel and a shrine to human experience, in both its
lowliest and its most exalted. Indeed, it seems that the greatness of the cathedral is that it is a
vast metaphor for humanity: diverse but striving toward harmony, grand but imperfect, and
always a work in progress. (Matteson, 2002 p.294)

Historically, innovative public architecture signifies societys view of its aspirations for its
future embodiment in the built form. As such, many incarnations of civic pride have been
overtly expressed in the cathedral. One interpretation of the embodiment of this civic pride is
the museum which can be seen as the contemporary cathedral.

The bold and innovative architectural statements made by the cathedral builders relied on a
higher purpose for their societal legitimacy and to justify the vast resources essential for their
construction. Since the change in societal and religious patterns the traditional unquestioned
application of social and political capital has responded accordingly. Social and political
capital traditionally has only been invested in works of high social and political value.
Therefore the cathedral has become an architectural bell-weather for societys belief
system. Whilst high profile museums are not a new phenomena, the amount of new, and
extensions to, museums in the last few decades has risen sharply. Consequently the prestige
for museum commissions has increased proportionally.

The most obvious application of tehnology in the Gothic Cathedral was in the area of
structural engineering advances. This means that the most appropriate area of comparison is
in the use of structure to express an idea. Because cathedral architecture evolved over time,
the iteration cycle of a given technical innovation was measured over generations rather than
years. Hence, the rate of change in technological advances used from the Gothic to the
present is not a linear relationship. Also the technology used in the Gothic period did not
address the need for heating and cooling, a large part of what todays technology is tasked
with.

This paper considers two examples of contemporary architecture and the similarity in the
expression of cultural significance through the technology that made them possible. It also
considers the shift of the forum of architectural technological advances from the cathedral to
the museum.




THE CATHEDRAL

The cathedral was the highest expression of architecture in the Gothic age: an age which
considered architecture as the highest manifestation of art. However, this high art was only
possible because of technical advances including the pointed arch, the flying buttress, and the
ribbed vault. These construction devices were direct responses to engineering and formal
obstacles that restrained the physical heights and hence the religious message that Gothic
Cathedrals aimed to express. In the Gothic Cathedral the most observable expression of the
power of technology was height. Hence, the direction of technological endeavour was to
support or invent methods that allowed greater heights to be achieved with a similar pattern
of building materials. However, competition with neighbouring cities drove the community
to invest its energies into extending the known limits of these materials as status symbols. At
the Guggenheim this symbolism has lead to an increase in the level of people making a trip to
the city of Bilbao to experience a work of architecture.

The Guggenheim, this most fted of the new sites of pilgrimage by Frank Gehry and
Associates (1991-97) has rapidly become an architectural icon. A wider frame of reference
has manifested itself as a significant improvement in tourist levels of the City of Bilbao over
1.4 million in the first year (Stephens, 1999).

Other works of museum architecture have also embraced unorthodox design and have
reframed the debate surrounding the wider implications of the museum as a cultural
establishment. The National Museum of Australia (NMA) designed by Melbourne architects
Ashton Raggatt and McDougall (ARM) in association with Robert Peck von Hartel
Trethowan is one such high profile work of architecture.

The heightened profile of the museum as a taxonomy of type and its role in shaping societal
views of itself is not a new proposition as asserted by Hooper-Greenhill (1992). However,
museum architecture as an expression of its time, rather than what artefacts it contains is
increasingly considered in aesthetic rather than technical terms.

.goes far beyond any evolutionary notion of architectural economies or aesthetics. It is a
quantum break and , consequently, unlikely to find its fullest expression in commercial
buildings. If, like medieval cathedrals, museums understand and accept their full
responsibility to the art of their time (Hooper-Greenhill, 1992 p9)

The notion of museum architecture being reverential to the artefacts in the manner cathedrals
were reverential to God was most notably reassessed by Frank Loyd Wright with his design
for the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum New York (1959). This seminal building is widely
considered more historically significant than the art it houses and hence started a debate
about the nature and purpose of museum architecture. The Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao has
reignited this debate which the east wing of the National Museum of America by I.M. Pei
Cobb Freed & Partners (1971-80) and Pompidou Centre, Paris by Piano and Rogers (1971-
77) have all fueled during the post modern era.

The prominence of the museum as a landmark has also added to the public perception of the
museum as a civil icon. The non-Euclidean forms Gehry uses at the Guggenheim, Bilbao
and the Grand Loop of the NMA, contrasts with the adjacent buildings in a similar manner to
the towering Gothic or Renaissance cathedrals. In this way the Gothic cathedrals and
contemproary museums act as geographic markers. These extraordinary forms show the
building as a visual embodiment of the citys self-image; this elevated visibility is an integral
element of the cathedrals place in the collective consciousness.

"Ever since the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Solomon R Guggenheim Museum opened in
1959, architects have looked upon art museum commissions as their chance to ascend the
architectural Everest." (Schwartzman, 1997 p.55)

Gehrys Weisman Museum Minneapolis (1990-3) and Guggenheim Museum, Berlin (1993-
7), Daniel Liebskinds J ewish Museum, Berlin (1993-7) and the boilerhouse extension to the
Victoria and Albert Museum, London (1996- ) and I.M. Peis extensions to the Louvre Paris
(1988), all express the prestige of the museum as a commission. A museum commission can
propel formerly unknown architects into the vanguard of their profession as was the case of
Piano and Rogers at the Pompidou Centre, Paris, or elevate an established architect to
stardom as in J ames Stirlings and Michael Wilfords, Neue Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart (1977-
84). Hence, the competition between architects for a career-making commission creates a
positive environment for innovation in both form and the technology that underpins it.

Museums rely in varying degrees on the patronage of wealthy individuals or corporate giants
more than ticket sales for their survival. This means that the higher the profile the greater the
ability to attract sponsors Hence, the more conspicuous museums appeal to potential patrons.
A conspicuous building in todays environment needs a design which was previously
unconstructable within the normal economics and aesthetic norms of architectural practices.
For, as Truelove asserts [t]hese progressive museum buildings have become the
manifestation of contemporary architectural discourse (Trulove, 2000 p.55). This is a
discourse driven by an increasingly global view of architecture as a corporate signature. As
the signature of God was/is universal there was no need to redundantly reinvent the forms of
the Gothic Cathedral whereas in a global marketplace a difference from competitors is a
sought after commodity.

FROM RELIGIOUS TO SECULAR

The continuing need for a higher purpose in the built form has created an environment which
allowed the museum to partially displace the religious space as architectures most
presitgious commission, and societys most valued public space.

However, if the relationship between God and humanity is becoming more ambiguous, hence
the architecture must mirror this ambiguity if it is to remain relevant. Since Nietschzes
assertion of the death of God in The Joyful Science, the incontestable position of the
cathedral as the embodiment of an entire societys highest aspirations is becoming less
tenable. This evolving question of God and humanity has promoted an environment of
confusion about what societys most valued space may be. The zeitgeist is more elusive
today than in any contemporary period because the void left by religion has not been filled by
a system with a similar level of surety. Consequently this leads to some societal unease
about the most appropriate use of collective resources and architectural language.

The Australian Bureau Statistics in its most recent survey of religious trends (The Australian
Bureau Statistics, 1994) shows those who described themselves as having no religion in 1933
totalling 0.2% of the total population as compared to 12.9% in 1991. This decline in
religious affiliation underscores the decline of social, physical and intellectual resources the
cathedral can now command. As Charles J encks asserts,

With the decline of the Christian and Modern belief systems, with the rise of consumer
society and a celebrity system, architects are caught in a vicious trap. They have little
credible public conventions and ideologies to build for, they lack any iconography beyond a
debased machine aesthetic (or High-Tech) and an ecological imperative that has yet to
produce accepted symbols, By contrast.. you must design an extraordinary landmark, but
it must not look like anything seen before and refer to no known religion, ideology or set of
conventions. (J encks, 2003 p.72)

Since existentialism, humanity has reassessed its relationship to its aspirational architecture.
The necessity to construct a personal view of man, God, and the built form has promoted an
alternative view of existence as a search for meaning conducted by the individual on his/her
own terms. The resulting personal rather than institutional view allows a more diverse
interpretation of what is inspirational architecture.

The NMA was predicated upon multiple concepts (Reed 2001), some of which are expressly
pluralist. This pluralist underpinning has led some to speculate on what the NMA signifies to
the museum-going public. Gibson (2001) alluded to a nugget of neuroses which he argues
is evident in the complex design of the NMA. The parti that drove Gehrys design for Bilbao
is also still a matter for debate. This was not a concern that Gothic and Renaissance
cathedral builders needed to address; there was no ambiguity in their task, no existential
condemnation of freedom. In this environment new and novel forms act as indicators of the
prevailing images of existence.


COMPUTATIONAL vs TRIAL AND ERROR DESIGN

The metaphor of tangled destinies that ARM used at the NMA and the highly iterative and
idiosyncratic methods of Frank Gehry can be seen as the antithesis of the clear and precise
intention of the Gothic Cathedral builders. The early versions of the NMA explored the
multi-layered methods applied by ARM. The many versions ARM were able to model was
because of the computers ability to retain many previous versions of the same project. This
allowed ARM to model what ifs.

Gehrys use of computer modelling makes extensive use of reverse engineering, that is,
taking a hand sculpted artefact and translating the physical artefact into electronic data. Both
Gehry and ARM are thus given the facility of rapid form generation and structural engineers
who are conversant with electronic data (CAD models) that allow their highly individual
forms to be proofed before the building has begun.

The traditional method of advancing architectural technologies in cathedral construction was
trial and error. The collapse of Beauvais cathedral in 1284 was the most famous example of
the error side of the equation in construction. Until this time most engineers considered that
Beauvais had exceeded the capabilities of the materials. The main reason for the collapse of
Beauvais as asserted by Murray (1997, p.162) was a lack of axial alignment coupled with
the idiosyncratic bay system which led to the buckling of the walls. Whilst Hayman
(1997) disagrees with Murray as to the most likely cause of the collapse both agree that it
was not a simple case of building materials being used exceeding their capacity. As Hayman
asserts the stress level in most of the fabric of a Gothic Cathedral is so low the strength of
the material is of only secondary importance (p.171). Therefore the experience of Beauvais
shows that the materials were adequate for the task but the understanding of the limitations of
structural design was lacking.

The forum of experimental design in architecture has now shifted to a method of
computational analysis. The built form of the museum is now tested in the virtual, rather
than the physical environment. This transition allows a far greater development in form and
structure. It is similar in nature to physical trial and error insofar as it is a realisation of
constant iteration. However, the Gothic cathedral builders conducted their iterations over the
span of generations in comparison to the hours a computer performs the iteration. The speed,
accuracy and inexperience of trial and error in a virtual world allows the contemporary
cathedral builder a capricious view of what can be achieved. The unorthodox structures at
Bilbao and Canberra were computationally designed which supported a greater degree of
lateral thought in the design process and allowed the realisation of idiosyncratic design.
Idiosyncratic design was given by Murray (1997) as a major factor in the collapse of
Beauvais.






Figure 1
Plan and part section of the NMA main hall (from ARM) (left), Plan and part section of
Chartres Cathedral (from Janson) (centre), and Plan and CATIA wireframe of the
Guggenheim (from Van Bruggen) (right).

Both the Guggenheim, Bilbao and the NMA have used the latest in technologies to generate
and to document these forms. The non-Euclidean form used by Gehry at the Guggenheim
was only available to Gehry because of the CAD system used. This system, CATIA, was
developed by the aerospace industry to handle aerodynamic surfaces and life cycle
management for the aerospace and automotive industry. Gehrys use of CATIA at Bilbao
benefited greatly from the subcontractors understanding of that system and the presence of
aerospace engineers in his office, whilst ARM used a variety of proprietary systems to
acquire the NMAs final form

The axial alignment of the external walls of the NMAs main hall and many of the
Guggenheim walls could be seen as a descendant of the cathedral at Beauvais. The external
walls are angled towards the exterior of the wall whilst Gehrys work seems to dispel any
sense of structural rationality. The two most important factors in the structural analysis of
any building are the gravity and wind. These factors increase as the scale of the building
increases. Hence, in the Gothic era, before the advent of structural engineers as a discipline
the knowledge of what had been successfully used before formed the body of knowledge,
this rudimentary understanding of downward and lateral forces gave rise to the pinnacle and
the flying buttress. The structural rationality of the Gothic Cathedral and its simple load
paths repeated the accumulisation of knowledge by the masters of the day. The computation
of the complex load paths of a typical section of the NMAs main hall is far from the most
structurally rational forms. The structural engineers (Arup) used data supplied by ARM
modelled in Rhino, a 3D solid modelling package, to analyse the structure whilst Gehry used
the same model to ensure structural integrity. Figure 1 shows the comparison of composition
and structural innovations seen as floor plans, wall sections and 3D CATIA wireframes of the
NMA, Chartres and the Guggenheim respectively. They highlight the shift from structural
rationality driving form to form driving structural innovation..

Other factors have influenced the form of both the Cathedral and the museum. The
clerestory of the Gothic cathedrals was designed to allow light to penetrate the space. The
fine tracery of Gothic stone ribs and the large expanses of light were driven by this simple
precept to illuminate the space with light from above. In comparison the NMA computer
model allowed ARM to test solar penetration with the aim of allowing light to penetrate the
space only in very tightly defined levels and locations.

The faades of the NMA (permanent gallery) were unfolded from the virtual model to allow
cutting lists to be generated for the cladding contractors. There is a parallel with the way the
tracery was laid out on the ground before installation to the cathedral bay windows (Harvey,
1997) (Figure 2). Gehrys computer model for Bilbao allowed a detailed structural analysis
of the steel work in addition to a database to generate a bill of materials with outstanding
accuracy.



Figure 2
Unfolded faade (standing area) with overlaid calligraphy (from ARM) (left) and tracery
floor York cathedral (from Harvey) (right)




The marks taken from the tracery floor of York Cathedral highlight the similarity of intent
and how computers have enabled a more significant use of geometric modelling. The
increase in computer power and the desire to build unorthodox designs has generated some
unfamilar spaces.







CONCLUSION

The tradition of building for a higher purpose is a well established human preoccupation.
Such service to a higher purpose historically carried a greater importance and status than
other architectural endeavours: consequently the resources available gives these commissions
a high profile. However, the vehicle of the self-vision for a community in the current
environment is no longer the sole domain of the Cathedral.

There are similarities in the way the two case study buildings were conceived, less so in
construction, but the most consistent comparison is in the correlation between societys view
of itself and the significance of the artefacts it leaves as its legacy.

Whilst the technologies used to realise cathedrals has changed, the desire to build the most
daring architecture has remained a constant and this drive is apparent at the NMA, Canberra
and the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao. The Gothic cathedral expressed its significance
through scale and ingenuity. Both the NMA and the Guggenheim overtly express their
ingenuity and complexity. Both buildings were only conceived due to generative design
tools available to the architects, and only constructable because of their computer generated
documentation system.

The coincidence between the ascent of computer science and the decline of organised
religion has created an environment in which the architectural paradigm most closely related
to advances in architectural technology is not in praise of God but in trying to understand
ourselves and our place in the world. This collective endeavour is mirrored in architecture
that has moved beyond structural rationality and single purpose to an architecture of
seemingly structural irrationality and ambiguous meaning. This consequently has allowed
architectural science to become more diverse.




ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author acknowledges the assistance of ARM in providing access and information. Also
the author would like to thank Dr. Susan Shannon and Professor Antony Radford of The
University of Adelaide, School of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Design,
for their guidance in the preparation of this paper. This research forms part of a project
supported by an Australian Postgraduate Research Scholarship.

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