Alison and Peter Smithson written by Nicholas Oslington

Discuss the possibility of a tradition of realism in British art and architecture from the 1950’s to today. Which British architects would you describe as ‘realists’ and why?

We might consider the twentieth century to be one of the most influential and transformative periods in history; a period where great social, political and economic change had an unquestionable role in the approach to making art and architecture; a role which still resonates today. In a post-war Britain, facing a scarcity of resources and economic decline, the ideal vision of the Modernist utopia was no longer perceived as a fitting approach to place making, and art and architecture started to follow, what could be called, a more realistic path. A young group of enthusiastic artists and architects emerged out of the disillusionment with Modernism; its restrictive four-function model of living, working, recreation and circulation charging them with the ambition to instead look at what was actually around them and respond to it. Alison and Peter Smithson stood at the forefront of this new movement and used the process of looking and responding in an attempt to make architecture that, whilst adopting Modernist principles on material and construction, sought to deal with the nature of inhabitation. Departing from both their 1949 Hunstanton School and 1961 Upper Lawn Pavilion, this discussion will begin by exploring the Smithsons’ relationship with the idea of honest construction and the notion of the ‘everyday’, in an attempt to find a realistic sensibility in their way of working. In doing so, it is intended to suggest that elements of their conceptual and practical approach form the foundations of a tradition of ‘realism’ that can be traced throughout architectural history to today. To establish a continuity of this tradition in the present, the discussion shall turn towards the work of Tony Fretton and Jonathan Sergison and Stephen Bates proposing that, whilst these architects operate in the spirit of the realistic sensibility identified in the work of the Smithsons, they add another dimension of realism to their approach. In a context where there is an increasing sense of abstraction in architecture, this discussion aims to identify work that is bold, yet sensitive and informed by a way of life.

‘Architecture is neither the plaything of aesthetics nor the servant of necessity, but the embodiment of a desired way of life: only in the pursuit of that ambition does its true origin lie.’1 In searching for the origins of a realistic tradition in British architecture, we must undoubtedly draw reference to the work of Alison and Peter Smithson, which whilst embodying the characteristics of modernity, turns towards a more honest means of expression – work that is fundamentally centred on the person. In 1949, then aged only 21 and 26 respectively, the Smithsons won the competition to design a new school at Hunstanton in Norfolk. Formalised as a ninety metre long box sat within a wide and flat coastal landscape, the honest expression of the structure gives the building a dramatic presence, ‘the construction is simple and clean: an uncovered welded steel skeleton, into which large panes of glass have been inserted’2. The material palette, drawing together steel, unpainted timber, yellow brick, and painted iron, represents a conscious decision to express the architecture directly so that it may be identified as a ‘made’ entity. The simplicity of the design also leaves 1

Colin St. John Wilson, The Other Tradition of Modern Architecture, p.6 Claude Lichtenstein and Thomas Schregenburger, As Found, The Discovery of the Ordinary, Lars Muller, 2001 p.114

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many of the service elements exposed illustrating a clear intention to confront the inhabitant with the very parts of the building’s fabric. Whilst this apparent ‘less is more’ approach alludes to the work of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the Smithsons assert that they wanted to be even more explicit about the expression of these details, exposing them ‘as found’, rather than veiling them in the way, they suggest, Mies often did. To accompany this sense of honesty about the way in which the building has been composed in terms of structure and material, the Smithsons also attempt to bring the building close to the landscape. The school is arranged around two green courtyards which, coupled with the extensive glazing, draw light deep into the plan and give the students calm spaces to look at. To further amplify this feeling of openness and being contained within a landscape the plan features loose circulation, with the intention of creating free flowing spaces as the enfilade arrangement draws you from the entrance through to the dining room and hall and to the landscape beyond. Hunstanton does not shy away from its context and its modernity and instead seeks to reconcile these two seemingly opposed elements. The honesty of structural expression gives the building a lightness, which allows it not only to sit in the landscape, but to become engaged in a dialogue with it.

Using Le Corbusier’s four functions as a foundation, but redefining them with the modes of house, street, district and city, Alison and Peter Smithson suggested that architecture should be made with a consideration towards a way of life. They sought to create a dialogue between architecture and inhabitation and did so most prominently through the work of the photographer Nigel Henderson. His images were all about the everyday life in the streets of post-war Bethnal Green and directly presented the viewer with the life as it was. He carefully studied people and their behaviour; children playing in the street, the milkman and his cart, ‘the street as a place of meeting, communication, anonymity, and equality’3. These images inspired the Smithsons to open their eyes; to look at what was actually there and appreciate what they saw. At their ‘Patio and Pavilion’ installation at the ‘This is Tomorrow’ exhibition in 1956, Alison and Peter Smithson, along with the artist Eduardo Paolozzi and Nigel Henderson constructed a primitive three walled shed with a corrugated plastic roof, ‘a rudimentary shelter and surrounding space […] filled with various objects’ 4. Around this ‘pavilion’ they arranged a

random series of ‘found’ objects; an image of a lobster, bicycle parts, representatives of the ‘things’ which constitute a place, to form a space for inhabitation. In making this installation the Smithsons attempt to refer to the origins of place and shelter by suggesting that a simple structure with sides and a roof scattered with objects accumulated by the inhabitant represent the fundamentals of place making.

‘A view of the sky, a piece of ground, privacy the presence of nature and animals when we need them - to basic human urges – to extend and control, to move. The actual form is very simple, a ‘patio’ or enclosed space, in which sits a ‘pavilion’.’ 5

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Claude Lichtenstein and Thomas Schregenberger, As Found, The Discovery of the Ordinary, Lars Muller, 2001 p.84 4 Ibid p.178 5 Alison Smithson, ‘’Parallel of Life and Art’’ by Nigel Henderson, p 115

Alison and Peter Smithson’s thoughts on habitation are an integral element of this discussion and are best explored through their project in 1961 for their summer home, the Upper Lawn Pavilion at Tisbury in Wiltshire, Upper Lawn returns to the basic fundamentals of dwelling, a primitive two-storey hut that consisting of a small box on top of the existing garden wall. The cottage that was originally on the site was demolished and replaced with the new modest pavilion. On the ground floor it contains a small living space, as well as a basic kitchenette and bathroom, which opens out onto an enclosed courtyard garden. Upon climbing a ladder stair you enter into the main living space of the pavilion, which is fenestrated with large windows giving fantastic views to the landscape beyond. The whole installation of the structure is set around one of the original chimneys that they left intact from the original façade working as the centre of the pavilion. The box on the existing northern wall is constructed of a wooden frame clad with zinc, creating all sides with a casing for window panels. Alison and Peter Smithson used the hut as an escape from the city life, describing their time spent their as a series of, ‘endless camping out weekends’6. Thomas Schregenberger’s description of the ‘as found’ as an art of picking up, turning over and putting with; a careful consideration of ordering and an appreciation of the ordinary, suggests that a realism and sensitivity is most explicitly demonstrated at Upper Lawn through its engagement with what is there and its re-use of the existing conditions.

After the Smithsons sold the Pavilion in 1982, it became worn out and nature overgrew the whole building. It was purchased again in 2002 by Ian and Jo Cartlidge who commissioned Sergison Bates to start a certain measure of restoration, with the objective to bring the house and garden back to an inhabitable state. The Smithson’s concept of a ‘way of life’ was central to how they believed architecture should be inhabited. A balance and understanding of what is poetic and what is physical.

Because of the pavilion’s state and its integration with the landscape, there was a question asked whether it was to be returned to new or to a state of in between. Sergison Bates decision was to not to return the house to a state where it was gleaming and shimmering on to the landscape; ‘the once light, shiny materials merged with the weighty peacefulness of the stone wall’7, but still responded to the Smithson’s approach, continuing the experience, a place where the messiness of life could play out.

This is best demonstrated through a new table that was proposed for the patio area. Relating to a concrete slab already poured when Upper Lawn was first built by the Smithsons, Sergison Bates respond by casting a five-legged concrete table standing upon this. This is looked upon as a permanent piece redefining the space and at the same time acknowledging the pavilion.

As Alison and Peter Smithson did, Sergison Bates only incorporated what was necessary for living, installing a basic kitchen and heating. The Upper Lawn Pavilion demonstrates the true definition of realism, presenting the ability of a ‘way of life’ informing architecture in a good way.

As Sergison Bates moved on from this project, you can still witness the strong influence the Upper Lawn Pavilion, and Alison and Peter Smithson has had on them and their approach to architecture. Sergison Bates’ project for urban housing at Finsbury Park in London presents three separate blocks wrapped with brick facades and capped with a concrete roof plate 6 7

Bruno Krucker, ‘’Complex Ordinariness’’ gta Verlag, 2002 p.40 Bruno Krucker, ‘’Complex Ordinariness’’ gta Verlag, 2002 p.43

carefully dressed with profiled aluminium. The density of the blocks relate to the surrounding buildings creating a continuous presence to the street. The facades weight and solidarity, is punctured by deep balconies with high-rise windows drawing light into the plan. The building is honest about its construction, with slightly messy mortar bonding giving you a sense that the building has been crafted - built of the ground. The concrete plinths give order and rhythm to the façade; an almost classical touch, whilst expressing the internal floor plates of the building. Sergison Bates value the brick as a means of ‘honest construction’ but like the Smithsons they also use it as a tool of decoration, ‘having a clear worked out a strategy for how brick can contribute to a bigger ambition, which in this sense means that the authenticity can be equated with the predominance, if not exclusive presence, of ‘brickness’.’8 By composing buildings in materials that are in themselves ‘made’ Sergison Bates could well be defined as ‘realists’ because there is a very clear and confrontational presence expressed by the architecture.

Tony Fretton’s project for The Lisson Gallery at Paddington in London (1986-92) was his first major project. Fretton is known for designing ‘location sensitive spaces’ using a combination of vernacular and minimalist approaches balancing the new and the old. The private gallery is arranged so each floor has one single space with a small set of stairs on the side. The ground and first floor levels have extensive windows providing north light into the gallery spaces. On the front facade of the gallery you really notice how the floor line continues perfectly on throughout the buildings on the rest of the street. Even though it is perhaps harsh and clean, it still gives you the impression that there has been a great amount of care and sensitivity involved in the design. Fretton binds the building to certain elements of the context in an attempt to sit the building within its place and merge it with the surroundings. A brick wall is retained and is framed by the gallery becoming an internal surface and confronting the inhabitants with the traces of the site’s former use.

In conclusion, I have learned since 1950 until today, there has been a strong tradition of realism in British art and architecture, most influenced by the fascinating work of Alison and Peter Smithson and there idea of honest construction. The amount of impact they have had is astonishing; as it has informed many of the most known architects living today, even artworks like ‘Readymades of Marchel Duchamp’ and films like ‘London’ by Patrick keiller. Tony Fretton and Sergison Bates have established a continuous tradition of the conceptual and practical approach to the foundation of British Realism. These architects operate in the spirit of a sensibility identified in the work of the Smithsons, adding another dimension of realism to their work. Realist Architecture is about portraying lives, appearances, problems, the ordinary, incorporating the way of life into the design and meaning of the building.

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Sergison Bates architects ‘’Papers 2’’ Brickness, p 97

Bibliography: -

Sergison Bates – Papers 2

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Tony Fretton – ‘Strategies for the Present’ in 2G Monograph

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Alison and Peter Smithson – Changing the Art of Inhabitation

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Alison Smithson, ‘’Parallel of Life and Art’’ by Nigel Henderson

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Sergison Bates – Brick

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David Tumbull - Tony Fretton ‘Conversation’

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Claude Lichtenstein and Thomas Schregenberger, As Found, The Discovery of the Ordinary

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Bruno Krucker - ’Complex Ordinariness’

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Colin St. John Wilson, The Other Tradition of Modern Architecture

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http://www.imagineschooldesign.org/typo3temp/pics/7337a4f7a2.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/_anonymouse_/kcl00501.jpg

Words: 2305

History Question 4 Nicholas C. Oslington K0849767