THE SHELLS WE LIVE IN

We have adopted the word enclosure to describe the objects that we design and draw.  Let’s substitute shell for enclosure and see if we derive any further understanding.

That is to say, imagine any building, or any man made object as a shell.  What are the fundamentals of a shell?

First, the concept of shell implies an invertebrate construction.  A snail,or mollusc,  secretes its shell around itself.  The resulting shell is an exoskeleton.

Most of the enclosures that we construct are of the invertebrate variety.  There is no central skeletal support structure.  We build, principally, an exoskeleton.  In our shells, the exterior walls and the roof are the support.

In fact, most of what we consider excellent structures do not have any interior support.  Think of Crown Hall.  Think of Symphony Space.

A gymnasium, for example, has great similarities to a mollusc shell.  Or a clear span living room (shown above) is very similar to an exoskeletal shell.

In the exact same manner, a snail’s shell is the structure.  We seem to have adopted an invertebrate mindset toward building.  We are molluscs.

And much of what we build is from the inside out.  Much of our act of building involves inside out construction activities.  Think of residential contractors who construct a wood frame wall on the subfloor, and then tilt it up into place (which is how the walls above were fabricated).  This very typical act has great similarities to the mollusc.

So we are snails after all.  We secrete our buildings mostly from the interior.  We principally build exoskeletons.