Beauty in Tectonics

It is ironic to read about tectonics now in the context of our class this semester because I wrote my Survey 3 paper on Mies’ and Loos’ theory and use of tectonics. I never found Mies or Loos to have given credit to Semper for their ideas, but I can definitely see the possibility of their having known about Semper. The bottom line is that they all agree: architectural beauty (and higher meaning) is in the details of tectonics. Mies achieved this with incredible structural detail with steel and glass; Loos with detailed joints between volumes and materials. It seems like the theorists we read from this week would agree with either of these techniques. All of these writers (as do many contemporary architects) agree that greater appreciation and meaning can be found in buildings that express their structure and making. These details remind us of their building’s built-ness; they cannot allow thoughtless inhabitation.