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…….La palabra «superficie» proviene del latín «superficies», que significa «lo que está arriba» o «encima«, o algo que está encima. La raíz «super-» significa «sobre» o «encima» y la raíz «-ficies» proviene del verbo «faciĕre» que significa «hacer» o «crear». Juntas, «superficies» se refiere a una capa o capas encima de algo……….La superficie es una magnitud y un atributo general de todos los cuerpos que expresa los límites de la extensión de estos. La superficie demarca el fin de un cuerpo y el inicio de otro en dos dimensiones: puede decirse que la superficie es el límite que separa los cuerpos entre sí………….

A MATTER OF TOLERANCE

This essay will explore architects with a particular insight into tolerance, and who seek to maintain control of the parameters of variability inherent to the design of construction through details. The work of architects including SHoP, Kieran Timberlake, and Frank Gehry will be considered for their attitude towards and understanding of the nature of tolerance. Their work will be studied from built object back through the design process, examining the ways in which tolerance is tied to tectonic expression, where the parts (and what lies between them) facilitates the whole.

THE QUIRKY, ENDEARING TRADITION OF “DUCK” ARCHITECTURE

….Learning from Las Vegas se presenta a primera vista como una exploración del paisaje americano, del paisaje vulgar, del paisaje de los bordes de las carreteras, de los strips, ese universo de rótulos y de signos publicitarios, feo y caótico. Pero que consiste también en una defensa de lo feo y lo ordinario, del supuesto mal gusto (que es el gusto dominante), frente a los cánones de la arquitectura moderna…..El texto distingue lo que Venturi y Scott Brown describen como ‘pato', (duck) y lo que denominan el ‘cobertizo decorado' (decorated shed)….¿Qué es un monumento en la época de la ciudad mediatizada? Se preguntan Venturi y Scott Brown; responden con un célebre croquis, Recommendation for a monument: un edificio cúbico sin la menor traza de arquitectura, que lleva un gigantesco cartel más alto que él: ‘I am a monument', que parece parpadear. No es la forma arquitectónica que hace el monumento, es su proclamación…..

THE CONTROL OF SHAPE: ORIGINS OF PARAMETRIC DESIGN IN ARCHITECTURE IN XENAKIS, GEHRY AND GRIMSHAW

Several contemporary architectural works are arguing use of parametric design technologies, without clearly identifying their essential conditions. This article reviews meanings of this term and its first literary uses in referring to architectural design, as well as initial works applying these techniques, with the purpose of clarifying its original sense and applications, to support a consistent development. The word has different meanings ranging from social to mathematical connotations, mostly related to a measurable variation. Meanwhile, the documents about architectural works consider the concept of parametric design from the stand point of management of building information to specific geometric operations. The works reviewed as early examples of parametric procedures in building design are the Philips Pavilion by Le Corbusier and Xenakis, the Barcelona Fish by Frank Gehry and the Extension of Waterloo Station by Nicholas Grimshaw. It comments on their general process of production, functional and construction issues involved in the design of these three cases. Geometrical and computer procedures are described in relation to shape definition, structural solution and design expression of each building. Based on the texts and cases reviewed, the article suggests a strict conception of parametric design in architecture, linked to variable curves, as well as a constructive and cultural sense.