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Pamphlet
Architecture 27: Tooling, by Benjamin
Aranda & Chris Lasch and Pamphlet
Architecture 28: Augmented Landscapes, by
Mark Smout & Laura Allen.
The two latest contributions to the
successful Pamphlet Architecture books both present young
practices with strong contributions to architectural discourse,
though each in their own unique ways. Aranda
& Lasch's young practice focuses on algorithms as
generators of architectural form and process; in effect
they are recreating architectural practice for the computer-minded
generations. Smout
Allen (PDF link), on the other hand, are landscape architects
with a complex and almost intuitive grasp of understanding
and treating the environment, the apparent antithesis of
Aranda & Lasch.
Number 27 is titled Tooling,
a term that recalls implements that predate computers, though
it could just as easily encompass the computer when it is
seen as incessant experimenting with whatever tools one
uses. The seven projects included in the book present seven
ways of experimenting: spiraling, packing, weaving, blending,
cracking, flocking, tiling. As part of each project they
explicitly define the algorithmic means for each maneuver
and, of course, following up with the outcome of that maneuver
on a specific program. Notable ones include their 10-Mile
Spiral outside Las Vegas, a traffic device that combines
driving with the city's raison d'etre, gambling;
and their unselected scheme for the PS1 courtyard that would
have created a grotto from modular "boulders"
comprising both structure and surface.
Number 28 is titled Augmented
Landscapes, another fitting title for a young British
duo who haven't yet built any commissions, but who create
some of the most beautiful and drawings and models to come
along in a while. These both express an understanding of
the landscape as something manipulated by humans, splintering
the human-nature dichotomy that prevails to this day. They
are not naive enough to strive for a nature free from human
influence; rather they acknowledge the extent of our actions
and look for the positive in that potential. Their projects
presented range from the small (a kite farm, a market) to
the large (a large area of the Nessodden Peninsula in Southern
Norway), though the attention to detail is consistent throughout.
It is inspirational fare, even if a great deal of it is
indecipherable.
Sure, these two Pamphlet Architectures
are very different from each other, but what is that but
an expression of the state of affairs? Society and culture
today are able to embrace such divergent philosophies that
are rooted in their own creative approaches to site, technique,
and other considerations. It's one of the reasons why we
buy Pamphlet Architecture and why it keeps going year after
year.
or 
for PA 27
or
for PA 28
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