'STRUCTURE' AS CONCEPTUAL RIGOR: The Collaboration of Cecil Balmond and Rem Koolhaas

Abstract

Cecil Balmond (1943- ), the Sri Lankan born, British structural engineer, creates with a profound sense of spatial definition. This definition is underscored by Balmond’s conceptual rigor, ‘Structure is architecture’ and his theoretical framework of the ‘informal’. His keen spatial sensibilities, use of mathematics, and gravity-defying structural compositions in a number of architectural projects in the latter half of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries are witness to this transformative impact. In so doing, Balmond, as a structural engineer, has earned early on in the design process, a seat at the proverbial architectural design table. Balmond’s most significant contributions are seen in his collaborations with the Dutch architect, Rem Koolhaas (1944- ). Previous scholarship considers Balmond’s work from a purely structural engineering perspective, or considers the built works as a product of the architect’s genius, thus limiting the reading of their collaborative production and the conceptualizing role of Balmond as a structural engineer. Using the lens of Balmond’s theoretical approach to architectural design provides a new, yet complementary way of reading their co-authored built works. This thesis recasts their collaborative works as a display of Balmond’s architectural sensibilities along with Koolhaas’, deserving joint/equal authorship for the projects. Furthermore, this thesis explores Balmond’s contribution to shaping Koolhaas’ early ‘built’ architectural career, and it highlights the transformation of both these individuals from differing backgrounds into multi-dimensional architects. This thesis analyzes critical built works based on Balmond’s framework – ‘informal’, and Koolhaas’ construct – ‘bigness’. The Kunsthal in Rotterdam, The Netherlands; the Seattle Public Library, Seattle, USA; and the Casa da Musica, Porto, Portugal, are case studies that this thesis focuses on to emphasize and exhibit this unique interdisciplinary collaboration. The research examines the trajectory of this collaboration through archival research – drawings, images, correspondences, and newspaper articles; interviews; public lectures; published manifestoes; and through the experience of visiting the case study buildings.