Benv2426 - poster text

Organic Architectures free-flowing curves and expressive forms are sympathetic to the human body, mind, and spirit. In a well-designed "organic" building, we feel better and freer.[i] This coincides with Frank Lloyd Wright’s statement that rather “form and function are one”, and not following one another.[ii] This epitomizes that function shouldn’t influence the form, but function and form should work together to define the design and space collectively. Hence through using non-linear geometry the functioning and form work collectively to create a respect for nature with a celebration of the beauty and harmony of natural forms, flows, and systems.

Through this integration the design has implicated both the apartments and retail using linearity to distinguish yet harmonise the two, to give an architecture that concurs with its usage and environment. This is evident within the concaved facade which bends to complement the pedestrian walkway.

Organic Architecture because of these factors are being designed with an increased ecological awareness to incorporate low-energy, sustainable, and recycled materials and energy saving systems. This furthers the notion of non-linearity as ‘Rectilinear buildings are not ideal "green" buildings, as they cannot simply ‘grow out of the site and be unique’ while it’s design is at right angles and following historical traditions, which clearly neglects the ever-changing nature of the site. Hence what this site has done was to try and incorporate the apartments and retail in an organic design and feel, which bends outwards towards the city, giving the apartments the city overlook, giving the building a sense of grand, a notion of distinct ideas referring to the cities un-green, un-organic design.

Each iteration below shows different designs in the method of separating the apartments from the retail, yet harmonising the two into a building which conforms with its surrounding nature and the occupants sense of sentiment.

Inspired by the non-linearity and creative forces of nature and biological organisms, organic architecture is visually poetic, radical, idiosyncratic and environmentally aware; it embodies harmony of place, person and materials.[iii] This epitomises its design movement, how all aspects of the individual, building and site and how all these three highlighted factors are the key contributors of the overall design, program and system. Organic architecture is multi-faceted, free and surprising.

Through this inspiration organic architecture tries to emulate nature by its haphazard notion, using non-linear geometry to capture this, avoiding anything not alluding to Mother Nature.

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[i] Ibid., 8.

[ii] Frank Lloyd Wright, The Future Of Architecture (New York: Horizon Press, 1953), 227.

[iii] David Pearson, New organic architecture: the breaking wave (USA: University of California Press, 2001), 9.