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design’ (but with a different sense to that of Van de
Velde), in which each construction element creates and
finds its place. Hence the volume indicators that show
the way towards an economy of architectural thought
in terms of an ‘exact’ use of material and, no doubt, of
reflection.
18
The functionalist’s original question is raised
once again: does every architectural ‘problem’ result
in a unique solution that is better than all the others?
One of the failures of hardcore functionalism was to
have answered this question affirmatively, sweeping
aside the enormous number of architectural and urban
planning parameters and keeping only a few, while at
the same time promoting the partial industrialisation
of construction. Nevertheless, volume indicators are
not just theoretical. They tend to eliminate irrational-
ity and gratuitousness in built forms, and they show
that architecture can, in certain areas, settle for more
than approximation. Jacques Wybauw, with whom
Philippe Samyn worked on perfecting the Wybunit
prefabrication system, has always sought the ‘best’
solution – although sometimes, admittedly, in a rather
reductive manner.
19
In this sense, one could consider
that this theory is a question of ‘classical’ functional-
ism, or rather its scientific domain. Thus, when reading
the publication concerning rational construction of wind
turbines, one could ask the classic question about the
relationship between beauty and rationalism that indus-
trial design attempts to resolve.
Philippe Samyn’s writings on the patchwork in archi-
tecture
20
were published on the occasion of his design
for the facade of the European Union headquarters in
Brussels
(01-494)
. After the event, Samyn searched
through architectural history for arguments to justify
the huge collection of salvaged wooden window
frames from the twenty-seven Member States. We
are, in this case, in the presence of a purely senti-
mental text, despite its many references. Although
Le Corbusier wrote that ‘techniques are the very seat
of lyricism’, the strictly lyrical means used by Philippe
Samyn in this project do not need any other justification
than that of pure pleasure. However, he was happy
to be able to show that he was not alone, and that
salvaging is not incompatible with composition. In the
past, nearly all works that used a patchwork technique
were strictly structured, which acted as a counterpoint
to their constituent elements. In Devenir Moderne?
Philippe Samyn showed his love of geometry. Here,
perhaps, is the bridge between the rational and the
irrational. Although the writings of architects from the
Renaissance onwards have been characterised by
navigation between technique and emotion, particularly
over the past two decades, two specificities in Philippe
Samyn’s writings deserve to be pointed out. On the
one hand, as an engineer, he relies on technical argu-
mentation far more than architects normally do. In this
sense, he is closer to Jean Prouvé, who was a builder
rather than an actual engineer, as well as to the theo-
rists of the Renaissance and Baroque eras, since the
science of building and the requirements of contracting
authorities are still based on a craftsman-like, empiri-
cal approach to architecture and a traditional company
structure, despite several sensational technical revolu-
tions. On the other hand, Philippe Samyn’s writings are
devoid of any political reference, with the exception of
his stated oppositions to waste – at the design level as
well as that of the management of the built structure –
and of those considerations that are not in thrall to one
ideology or another.
21
Since the nineteenth century in
particular, architects have seen themselves as saviours
of an endangered humanity, and rare are those who
manage to avoid this demiurge obsession, which infil-
trates even the domain of teaching.
Although Philippe Samyn’s opposition to waste of
materials and energy are well known, we should not
forget that they concern as much the management of
the built environment as its construction. This is the
direction that contemporary society must take, espe-
cially the most industrialised nations. One of Philippe
Samyn’s most significant texts is without a doubt his
account of a long conversation with the French philoso-
pher Jean Attali, which was published in February 2008
in issue 170 of the review D’A (d’Architectures) under