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The concept of capsule architecture as experiment origins and manifestations

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PROSTOR

21 [2013] 2 [46]
ZNANSTVENI ÈASOPIS ZA ARHITEKTURU I URBANIZAM
A SCHOLARLY JOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN PLANNING

SVEUÈILIŠTE
U ZAGREBU,
POSEBNI OTISAK / SEPARAT OFFPRINT
ARHITEKTONSKI
FAKULTET Znanstveni prilozi Scientific Papers
UNIVERSITY
OF ZAGREB,
FACULTY 350-361 Peter Šenk The Concept of Capsule Koncept arhitektonske kapsule
OF ARCHITECTURE Architecture as Experiment kao eksperiment
ISSN 1330-0652 Origins and Manifestations Podrijetlo i manifestacije
CODEN PORREV with Selected Examples from Slovenia s odabranim primjerima u Sloveniji
UDK | UDC 71/72 and Croatia i Hrvatskoj
21 [2013] 2 [46] Subject Review Pregledni znanstveni èlanak
235-418 UDC 721.013:691.81(497.5:497.4)”19/00” UDK 721.013:691.81(497.5:497.4)”19/00”
7-12 [2013]
Fig. 1. Marko Peljhan with collaborators: Makrolab, 1997-2007
Sl. 1. Marko Peljhan sa suradnicima: Makrolab, 1997.-2007.
Scientific Papers | Znanstveni prilozi 21[2013] 2[46] PROSTOR 351

Peter Šenk
University of Maribor Sveuèilište u Mariboru
Faculty of Civil Engineering Graðevinski fakultet
Department of Architecture Odsjek za Arhitekturu
Slovenia - 2000 Maribor, Smetanova 17 Slovenija - 2000 Maribor, Smetanova 17

Subject Review Pregledni znanstveni èlanak

UDC 721.013:691.81(497.5:497.4)”19/00” UDK 721.013:691.81(497.5:497.4)”19/00”
Technical Sciences / Architecture and Urban Planning Tehnièke znanosti / Arhitektura i urbanizam
2.01.01. - Architectural Design 2.01.01. - Arhitektonsko projektiranje
Article Received / Accepted: 19. 2. 2013. / 10. 12. 2013. Èlanak primljen / prihvaæen: 19. 2. 2013. / 10. 12. 2013.

The Concept of Capsule Architecture as Experiment

Origins and Manifestations with Selected Examples from Slovenia and Croatia

Koncept arhitektonske kapsule kao eksperiment

Podrijetlo i manifestacije s odabranim primjerima u Sloveniji i Hrvatskoj

capsule kapsula
experimental architecture eksperimentalna arhitektura
megastructure megastruktura
minimum dwellings minimalni stambeni objekti
mobile architecture pokretna arhitektura

The paper presents the concept of the capsule in architecture in relation to Rad prikazuje koncept kapsule u arhitekturi u odnosu na Modernu te društvene
modernism, social and cultural change after World War II and experiments i kulturne promjene nakon Drugoga svjetskog rata kao i eksperimente u okviru
with housing typology and construction technology. Based on examples of stambene tipologije i tehnologije graðenja. Polazeæi od primjera autentiènih i
genuine and metaphorical capsule architectures, the vividness and relevance metaforiènih arhitektonskih kapsula, u radu se prikazuje vitalnost i relevant-
of the concept is also shown through selected pioneering and contemporary nost ovoga koncepta na odabranim ranim te suvremenim primjerima u kontek-
examples from the cultural environments of Slovenia and Croatia. stu kulturnih sredina Slovenije i Hrvatske.
352 PROSTOR 2[46] 21[2013] 350-361 P. ŠENK The Concept of Capsule Architecture as Experiment… Scientific Papers | Znanstveni prilozi

INTRODUCTION social and cultural change, appropriate hous-

ing typology and construction technology as
- THE CONCEPT DEFINITION well as economic efficiency, thus serving as
an important basis for designing radical mini-
UVOD mal environments such as examples of cap-
- DEFINICIJA KONCEPTA sule units.
Setting the mental ground for their emer-
gence, modernism, which evades a compre-
hensive definition, always meant either intro-
ducing something new into the existing sys-
tem or completely breaking away from it and
providing a basis for experiment.5 As high-
lighted by Tomaž Brejc, although experiment
carries a different connotation in science and
engineering than in art6 (which can also be
said for architecture), it is in fact both inevi-
table and crucial for a critical examination of
the existing and the previous, which is not
necessarily absolute and appropriate. Peter
Cook, the experimentalist of the Archigram
Group, argues that in the 20th century ”there
have been several occasions when science,
technology and human emancipation have
coincided in a way that has caused architec-
ture to explode.”7 Chasing the new in the
spirit of time, the heterogeneity of modern-
ism and open perception of modernity as
contemporaneity and progressiveness repre-
sent the experimental field that also allowed
for the development of the capsule concept
- not always and exclusively as a complete

T he concept of the capsule, explicitly nam-

ing compact, minimal, completely furnished
denial of the past, but also as a complex and
critical response to it.
In the context of the post-World War II mod-
and equipped living units, has generally been ernisation process, the Team 10 group, which
presented in architectural history in relation sprang from within CIAM, sought answers to
to the trend of megastructures and utopian social and technological questions in an ex-
radical architectural experiments with uncriti- perimental manner, exploring concepts and
cal faith in technological and scientific prog- strategies of enabling individual and collec-
ress of the 1960s. Generally known deriva- tive identity, resident participation in hous-
tions of the concept include capsule hotels, ing development and self-realisation of soci-
mainly in Japan, as well as prefabricated san- ety.8 At the beginning of the sixties of the 20th
itary facilities, ‘climate capsules’ as structural century, the highlighted relationship between
protection from atmospheric agents1 or cap- the individual (living) component and the col-
sules as bordered and/or controlled building lective infrastructure, which soon became
complexes or territories2, which are no longer part of the open design of megastructure for-
directly related to the original concept. mations, manifested itself in the form of the
relationship between individual living, i.e.
The origins and development of the capsule
concept in architecture can be traced through
theoretical concepts of modernism, the post- 1 Orig.: von Borries, 2010
World War II contexts and protagonists of a 2 Boomkens, 1998; De Cauter, 2004
distinctively technological architecture, par- 3 While the modularity of prefabricated elements that
formed larger architectural compositions in fact often built
ticularly in Great Britain and Japan. As early on traditional construction procedures with an industrial
as before and during World War II, the func- approach, the concept of the modular living unit as a pre-
tionalist approach, CIAM, endeavours to- fabricated whole is revolutionary.
wards prefabrication3 in architecture with 4 The congress was organised at a time when an ex-
early protagonists - Le Corbusier, Gropius, perimental field for new typologies of housing construc-
tion for the needs of workers was established in Frankfurt
Wachsmann, Prouvé and others, demands under the leadership of Ernst May. The theme of the ”Mi-
for mobility and questions of subsistence nimum Subsistence Dwelling” (Die Wohnung für das Ex-
minimum, especially so after the second istenzminimum) specifically focused on design concepts
solving the issue of high apartment rent and low salaries,
CIAM congress in Frankfurt in 19294, encour- offering the smallest comfortable dwelling for the lowest
aged architects to undertake experimental price [Mumford, 2000: 27-44; Heynen, 1999: 43-70]. Eric
practice to provide answers to questions on Mumford points out that the question of minimum hous-
Scientific Papers | Znanstveni prilozi The Concept of Capsule Architecture as Experiment… P. ŠENK 350-361 21[2013] 2[46] PROSTOR 353

capsule units and the collective megastruc- and New Brutalism, that provided the grounds
ture framework. for merging contemporary technology with
pop culture and paved the way for the later
Even though the concept of the capsule with
realisation of Reyner Banham’s architecture
metaphorical dimensions was not clearly de-
autre. The truly other architecture of the Sec-
fined in Japan, it initially represented, similarly
ond Machine Age, un-architecture, consumer
as in Great Britain, a compact, mobile, fully
and expendable architecture, technologically
equipped and ergonomically designed living
conditioned and mass produced architecture
unit with a built-in life span, as well as a mono-
was brought forth by the swinging sixties
functional unit (sanitary facility, kitchen unit,
through experimenting with new materials,
furniture element, etc.) with same characteris-
dwelling patterns and the accordingly adapt-
tics. The definition of a spatial unit called the ed new typology of the capsule. In Britain, liv-
capsule is also underlined with Günther Feuer- ing units that were designated as capsules
stein’s description of it as ”the smallest, still were designed in 1964 by members of the Ar-
moveable and autonomous environment well- chigram Group, introducing vivid pop light-
equipped with communications.”9 ness in Warren Chalk’s Capsule Home and
Fig. 2. Kisho Kurokawa: Nakagin Capsule Tower,
the compatible Plug-in City by Peter Cook,
PIONEERING EXAMPLES / TECHNOLOGICAL
Tokyo, 1972
and Cedric Price, who employed an opera- Sl. 2. Kisho Kurokawa: Nakagin toranj kapsula,
DERIVATIONS AND EXPERIMENTS WITH tional, technological and iconoclastic ap- Tokyo, 1972.
HOUSING TYPOLOGIES - THE CONCEPT OF proach in Potteries Thinkbelt.
THE CAPSULE IN GREAT BRITAIN AND JAPAN Archigram’s early capsule units were inspired
RANI PRIMJERI / TEHNOLOŠKE by the space capsule, which was founded on
an entirely different concept and efficiency
VARIJACIJE I EKSPERIMENTI U OKVIRU
than the traditional building10, the capsule ex-
STAMBENIH TIPOLOGIJA - KONCEPT periment employing technology transfer from
KAPSULE U VELIKOJ BRITANIJI I JAPANU space engineering and car industry to respond
to questions regarding construction technolo-
Based on the work of the Independent Group gy and economic efficiency. Moreover, ques-
and Peter and Alison Smithson’s New Bruta-
tions on social and cultural change and ap-
lism in the second half of the 1950s, the revi-
propriate housing typology were dealt with
sionist criticism of the modern movement re-
through the capsule’s ergonomic design, the
veals the starting points, origins and devel-
possibility of mass production and integrated
opment as well as first designs of living units
expendability, extendability and interchange-
called capsules in Great Britain, the latter de-
vised by their successors. ability of some elements or even the entire
capsule as consumer goods11, as well as the
Incorporating differences, blurring the bound- housing approach that included a series of
aries between popular and high culture and highly sophisticated and designed elements
Fig. 3. Warren Chalk, Archigram: Capsule Homes,
exhibiting an interest for everyday life and integrated into a tailored box, adopting an in- 1964, view of tower and plan of capsule unit:
authenticity provided the Independent Group dustrial design approach and implying a delib- 1 - service duct, 2 - bathroom, 3 - pneumatic lift,
with an open mode of action that went be- erate or even preferred lifestyle.12 4 - clip-on appliance wall, 5 - pull-out screen,
yond strict modernist principles. This estab- 6 - wide service door, 7 - services connection,
In the first half of the 1960s, capsule living 8 - storage unit
lished the foundations for the development
of many experimental practices that intro- units for individualised inhabitants by Archi- Sl. 3. Warren Chalk, Archigram: Kuæe kapsule, 1964.,
gram (Capsule Home, 1964; Fig. 3), Gasket pogled na toranj i tlocrt kapsule: 1 - servisna
duced radical reflections on the mode of vertikala, 2 - kupaonica, 3 - hidraulièno dizalo,
Homes (1965) were generally plugged to a 4 - montažni zid s kuhinjskim ureðajima, 5 - pregrada
dwelling, housing, as well as living in the city
hardware infrastructural core or megastruc- na izvlaèenje, 6 - široka servisna vrata, 7 - servisni
and comprehension of the environment in prikljuèci, 8 - spremište
ture frame, similarly as in the case of the fa-
general. It was the Smithson’s House of the
mous and paradigmatic Plug-in City (1964;
Future and its logic of incorporation, which is
Fig. 4). On the other hand, later designs (Liv-
characteristic both of the Independent Group
ing Pod, 1966; Cushicle, 1966-1967; Suital-
oon, 1968) break free of this attachment like
ing for the working class in France and England had alrea- Price’s capsules in Potteries Thinkbelt and
dy appeared before the congress, roughly in the period
since the nineteenth century, referring to the example of
become, as prophesied by Banham in ”A
Paris, which has a smaller residential area than the majo- Home is not a House”13, un-houses, com-
rity of proposals presented at the congress. pletely furnished and equipped, truly mobile,
5 Brejc, 1991: 141-150; Lynton, 1994 software and minimal environments for con-
6 Brejc, 1991: 141 temporary nomads and ad hoc spatial inter-
7 Cook, 1970: 11 ventions, or are radicalised into monofunc-
8 Risselada, van den Heuvel, 2005; Williams Gold- tional spaces or equipment connected to the
hagen, Legault, 2000 infrastructure of living or activity environ-
9 Feuerstein, 1996: 61-62 ments (Control and Choice, 1966; units for
10 Cook, 1999: 44 the Monte Carlo project, 1971). In his retro-
11 Cook, 1970: 63 spective discussion on creating new typolo-
12 Cook, 1999: 44 gies of minimum dwellings, Peter Cook de-
13 Banham, 1969 scribes the capsule as ”a convenient term
354 PROSTOR 2[46] 21[2013] 350-361 P. ŠENK The Concept of Capsule Architecture as Experiment… Scientific Papers | Znanstveni prilozi

one of the most active groups, and estab-

lished a discourse on capsule architecture
and its social implications.17
The manifesto ”Capsule Declaration” and re-
alisations of built capsule dwellings estab-
lished Kisho Kurokawa as the leading repre-
sentative and prophet of capsule architecture,
which he believed to hold liberating potential
for the individual and the possibility of radical
transformation of society as a whole. ”Cap-
sule Declaration” tackles the concept of the
capsule as an envelope for protecting the liv-
ing organism, as an object of mobility and lei-
sure society, as a mechanism of individuality
and social diversity, as a creation of a differ-
ent family system founded on the individual,
as an object of the individual’s spiritual fulfil-
ment in a Metabolist city, as a private enve-
Fig. 4. Peter Cook, Archigram: Plug-in City, 1964 with which to discuss the perfected industri- lope protecting one from unwanted informa-
Sl. 4. Peter Cook, Archigram: Plug-in City, 1964. ally-designed prototype home - with the tion, as a characteristic product of prefabrica-
space capsules somewhere in the back- tion and mass production, and as a tool
ground, creating the necessary rhetoric but against systems and uniformity.18
also calling to mind the concept of totally in- Although Kurokawa’s arguments about cap-
terrelated parts and appliances.”14
sule architecture are practically philosophi-
Fig. 5. GK Industrial Design Association: Komatsu Similarly as in the case of the Archigram cal and/or reflect social renaissance, designs
Ski-lodge, 1962; 1 - porch unit, 2 - service unit, Group and at the same time in an entirely dif- of capsule architecture by Japanese pioneers
3 - bunks, 4 - framework of timber, sheathed
externally with fibreglass, internally with plywood, ferent manner, the capsule concept in Japan can similarly be characterised within the
5 - concrete pad, 6 - rubber cushions, 7 - shelf, relates to the nation’s cultural tradition, framework of the prophecy on ‘the inevitabil-
8 - steps though it is reformed under the pressure of ity of experiment’, which was established by
Sl. 5. GK Udruženje za industrijski dizajn: Skijaška post-war social reality; founded as a response Peter Cook in Experimental Architecture in
kuæa Komatsu, 1962.; 1 - ulaz, 2 - servisna
prostorija, 3 - ležajevi, 4 - drveni okvir, izvana to urgent needs in fast-growing big cities in 1970. It was devised through an overview of
ojaèan staklenim vlaknima, a iznutra obložen reconstruction and to ineffective spatial plan- characteristics, works of protagonists and
šperploèom, 5 - betonski oslonac, 6 - gumeni ning, it also reflects faith in science, tech- examples mostly from the 1960s and was
podmetaèi za apsorpciju, 7 - polica, 8 - stube
nology and modernity of the newly defining based on the primacy or combination of the
Japan society. With regard to modern tech- factors of the logic of production, the value of
nology, Japanese Metabolists15 implemented the object, the value of the constituents, the
an architecture concept that encompasses opportunity of the material and opportunity
2 invisible tradition and enables ceaseless me- of the technology.19
tabolist transformation of structures interre-
lated with the cycle of changes in human life. MAIN TYPES OF CAPSULE UNITS
The duality of permanence and transitivity is
manifested in durable megastructure forma- GLAVNI TIPOVI KAPSULA
1 3 tions of ‘artificial land’ - artificial islands or
massive cores with cells - living capsule units Two main types of capsule units are evident:
7 with a shorter life cycle ‘growing’ out or being the autonomous, self-sufficient type of the
4 ‘clipped’ on them. Cellular living units were
6 already used in projects by Kiyonori Kikutake 14 Cook, 2002: 80-82; ”Buckminster Fuller was the god-
8 5 and Kisho Kurokawa at the end of the fifties, father of the concept, the space capsule the outrider, and
while they came to be referred to as ‘cap- the capsules of Kisho Kurokawa (seen by members of
Archigram in issues of ”Architecture d’Aujourd’hui”) the
sules’ mainly in the second half of the sixties, ones to beat.”
when they became an almost established 15 As early as at the end of fifties, an architectural move-
and predictable practice among designers ment called ‘Metabolism’ was established during prepara-
tions for the 1960 World Design Conference in Tokyo. The
and at competitions in Japan despite being movement was based on the philosophy of transformation
built rarely.16 In addition to connective units, and encompassed urbanism and industrial design besides
for instance in projects like Kitukake’s Tower architecture. In Metabolism 1960 - The Proposals for New
Urbanism, the architects Kiyonori Kikutake, Fumihiko
Shaped Community (1958; Fig. 6) and Kuro- Maki, Masato Ohtaka, Noriaki (Kisho) Kurokawa, writer
kawa’s Box Type Apartments (1962), the Expo Noboru Kawazoe and designer Kiyoshi Awazu presented
‘70 Takara Beautillon and Capsule House their view of human society as a part of a continuous natu-
ral entity that includes animals and plants and underlined
(1970) and the famous Nakagin Capsule Tow- their faith in technology as ”an extension of humanity”.
er (1972; Fig. 2 and 7), Japanese architects [Kawazoe, et al. 1960]
and designers devised many prototypes of 16 A good example are participating and winning pro-
jects at competitions organised by the Shinkenchiku (Ja-
independent, temporary and mobile living pan Architect) magazine in 1966 and 1967. [Nitschke,
units, with GK Industrial Design Associates as 1967: 207-216; Dahinden, 1972: 76-81, 92-97]
Scientific Papers | Znanstveni prilozi The Concept of Capsule Architecture as Experiment… P. ŠENK 350-361 21[2013] 2[46] PROSTOR 355

capsule and the connective type, which is after World War II and culminating in counter- Fig. 6. Kiyonori Kikutake: Tower Shaped Community,
connected to infrastructure or megastructure culture movements in the 1960s. 1958, view and section of tower and detail of clip-on
unit
framework and is dependent on it. Living units for polar research set an example Sl. 6. Kiyonori Kikutake: Stambene jedinice u obliku
• Autonomous capsules: from mobile archi- for many proposals for temporary dwellings tornja, 1958., pogled i presjek tornja i detalj
montažne jedinice
tecture of complete autarchy and nomadism in less demanding conditions, such as ski
to composite cellular agglomerations, bio- lodges, alpine huts or more extreme propos- Fig. 7. Kisho Kurokawa: Nakagin Capsule Tower,
logical metaphors and structuralism - Au-
Tokyo, 1972, axonometric view of tower and
als for underwater dwellings. In addition to axonometric cut-away view of capsule
tonomous cellular capsule units are indepen- Archigram’s Living Pod or even Suitaloon and Sl. 7. Kisho Kurokawa: Toranj kapsula Nakagin,
dent living units intended for one person or a the Komatsu ski lodge by GK Design in Japan Tokyo, 1972., aksonometrijski prikaz tornja
smaller household; they can be completely (Fig. 5), Matti Suuronen’s Futuro House from i aksonometrijski presjek kapsule
autarchic or constructionally solid enough late 1960s is a paradigmatic and famous ex-
and of such forms that they enable horizontal ample of such a living unit.
and/or vertical aggregation, facilitating the Structurally speaking, independent units com- Fig. 8. Sean Godsell: Future Shack, a recycled
creation of more complex composite struc- prise primarily types of prefabricated struc- shipping container as a mass-produced relocatable
tures. Independent cellular capsule units are tures of homogeneous monocoque20, frame
house for emergency and relief housing, 1985-1997
highly mobile and represent the most appro- Sl. 8. Sean Godsell: Koliba buduænosti, reciklirani
or panel designs with mass-produced, stable, brodski kontejner kao masovno proizvedena
priate implementation of the demand for light-weight and mobile components or even prenosiva kuæa za potrebe osiguravanja smještaja
complete autonomy and nomadism. These entire volumes, which were also enabled by u nuždi ili za odmor, 1985.-1997.
units are the most direct implementation of the use of new materials, i.e. plastic, render-
technology transfer from space engineering ing the design of living environments a part
for the needs on Earth. The experimental field of industrial design. First prototypes of an all-
includes designs of living units for extreme plastic house (1955-1956) were Ionel Schein’s
conditions, which imply entirely new social monocoque single space modules for hotel
relations and community formation, the de- cabins and mobile library.21 Arthur Quarmby,
velopment and use of new materials and en- the British pioneer of the use of plastic in ar-
abling the tendency for nomadism, estab- chitecture, paradigmatically described cabins
lished in the desire to transform the society as ”a brilliant exercise in the development of
a living capsule to cater for ten hours of night
17 In 1969, the Japanese magazine SD (Space Design) and eight hours of daytime. It includes twin
published a thematic issue on ‘capsules’ with several pa- beds which convert for daytime use into a
pers by Japanese Metabolists, including Fumihiko Maki, couch and a table, and a splendidly compact
Noboru Kawazoe and Kisho Kurokawa, as well as a dis- top-lit bathroom with W.C., shower and
cussion and description of activities by GK Industrial De-
sign Associates. [*** 1969: 36-45] washbasin.”22 Schein’s Maison Plastique
18 Kurokawa, 1977: 75-85
from 1956 is a proposal of a ‘growing’, flexi-
ble house made of plastics in a panel design,
19 Cook, 1970: 30-67
while plastic houses designed by Cesare Pea
20 In 1943, Marcel Breuer devised a housing prototype
with Plas-2-Point, one of the first projects where the outer
were a direct reference to Archigram with re-
skin also had a structural function. The project was a forerun- gard to the question of expendable architec-
ner of experiments with a single-shell, i.e. monocoque con- ture and corresponding responses, similarly
struction, which emerged at the end of the 1950s with the as Qarmby’s ‘shells’ for British Railways and
development of the plastics industry. [Bergdoll, 2008: 21]
older Fuller’s experiments, as well as tradi-
21 Busbea, 2007: 58. Schein designed it together with tional prefabricated houses, house trailers
the engineers Magnant and Coulon.
and caravans.23
22 Quarmby, 1974: 48
23 See: Archigram 3, 1963, on ‘expendability’. [Cook, With Fuller’s 1940 caravan Mechanical Wing
1999: 14-15] serving as a model, living ‘capsules’ for the
356 PROSTOR 2[46] 21[2013] 350-361 P. ŠENK The Concept of Capsule Architecture as Experiment… Scientific Papers | Znanstveni prilozi

needs of the nomad were completely fur- tures dealt with by structuralism in architec-
nished and equipped mobile dwellings.24 ture. A typical and notorious example is
However, as the American caravan was never Moshe Safdie’s Habitat ’67 for Expo ’67 in
actually used as a mobile home, the 1960s Montreal.28
projects of truly mobile dwellings for contem-
• Connective capsules: megastructure and
porary nomads appear to be an experiment
clip-on/plug-in units - The second main type
that grasps the opportunity for true libera-
of capsule units, depending both on the load-
tion.25 Projects of potential emancipation
bearing and other infrastructural systems, is
were realised as dismountable container
the connective type, which can be clipped on,
dwellings: from units designed by the Horn-
plugged in, hanged or inserted in the infra-
sey College of Art for the Milan Triennial 1964
structure frame or core. Stemming from the
to Alberto Rosselli’s Mobile House exhibited
relationship between the megastructure and
at Italy: The New Domestic Landscape, 1972,
the equipped living capsule, Archigram’s
as well as many contemporary successors of
clip-on/plug-in concept29 denotes a pragmat-
living units for extreme conditions and mobile
ic system for solving housing issues with a
or temporary art interventions (Fig. 8 and 9).
simultaneous creation of a new lifestyle, ‘lib-
On the other hand, composite cells are units erating’ anarchism, techno-fetishism and oc-
with an interior structure that allows for cellu- casionally an ironic undertone of the view
lar agglomerations. Such units are generally into a brave new world. On the other hand,
modular and constructionally stable struc- Japanese Metabolists express this relation-
Fig. 9. N55: Snail Shell, 2002, low cost living unit, tures designed as monocoque or a frame and ship through social and political commitment
which enables living in various natural
environments, also functions as an artistic
infill. Composite cells are completely furnished inspired by a technologically conditioned
intervention in public space and equipped for functioning as independent- ‘natural growth’ and ‘cyclicality’. Paradigmat-
Fig. 9. N55: Snail Shell (Puževa kuæica), 2002., ly as possible, as also characteristic of auto- ic and pioneering examples of such designs
jeftina stambena jedinica koja omoguæava stanovanje nomous cells. Nevertheless, assembling or include Kikutake’s Tower Shaped Community
u razlièitim prirodnim okolišima. Takoðer može
funkcionirati kao umjetnièka intervencija u javnom
‘growth’26 of cellular agglomerations reveals and Kurokawa’s Bamboo Type Community
prostoru. the issue of a complete lack of control, which from the end of the fifties or the 1964 Capsule
renders difficult or completely negates the ba- Homes by Archigram’s Warren Chalk, which
sic possibility of further mobility of such cellu- were realised in Kurokawa’s Nakagin Capsule
lar units due to vertical agglomeration. Tower in 1972 and his Capsule House K from
Taking the definition of the capsule and its the same year.
demand for mobility into account, integrated On the other hand, the connective type of the
‘capsules’ can only be referred to as such on capsule, which is inserted in the structural
a metaphorical level if disassembling the frame, is directly related to the tradition of
composite structure is no longer possible. space frames.30 Reyner Banham notes that
The dismountable version most commonly the first project that resembled a megastruc-
appears in the form of light-weight, prefabri- ture was the 1952 group project produced at
cated and container units and their tempo- the Architectural Association31, while he pres-
rary designs, usually reaching up to several ents François Jamagne’s project for Antwerp
floor heights. Wolfgang Döring’s early experi-
ments with plastic cells, which date back to 24 The first caravans in the United States became popu-
the mid-sixties, or the Portakabin system can lar in early 1930s and by 1937 represented a permanent
shelter for two hundred thousand families, mainly due
be compared to ‘stacking’, prefabricated to the consequences of the Great Depression. Caravans
components of contemporary and highly with sanitary facilities were introduced after 1950. [Prahl,
popular container architectures, as they build 1999: 69-73]
on the potential of realisable general mobi- 25 Scott, 2007: 215-237
lity and nomadism as well as solving housing 26 Dahinden notes that the growth of cellular agglome-
issues.27 rations has often been inappropriately compared with
natural growth, as natural growth in the plant world leads
Furthermore, the ‘metaphorical’ version em- to the ultimate state of maturity. [Dahinden, 1972: 21]
ploys prefabrication and is usually based on 27 Composite cellular capsule units reveal the relevance
units constructed of dwelling materials that of capsule architecture in conditions that require maxi-
mum pragmatics. While many similar examples and pro-
are more durable and conventional, weaving jects could be pointed out, particularly when it comes to
into compositions with representational fea- container architecture, it should be noted that minimum,
tures of the open structure, growth, incom- i.e. capsule units are used primarily as dwellings for stu-
dents, functioning as a pragmatic tool for solving housing
pleteness, fragmentation or even organicity. conditions, but also cater to temporary living needs of sea-
In the history of architecture, this version sonal workers or in case of natural disasters. Cedric Price’s
represented an attempt to establish a rela- ‘non-architectural’ architecture in Potteries Thinkbelt has
thus become a reality in more compact systems.
tionship between the built and social struc-
28 Reyner Banham describes the development of the
project and its implementation, but always refers to living
Fig. 10. Miha Kajzelj: Bivouac 2, Kotovo sedlo cellular units comprising the megastructure as ‘habitable
(1965 m), Julian Alps, 2005 capsules’, ‘house-capsules’, ‘concrete-box capsules’ or
Sl. 10. Miha Kajzelj: Bivouac 2, Kotovo sedlo (1965 m), ‘stacked capsules’. This does not correspond to our defini-
Julijske Alpe, 2005. tion of capsules as developed from pioneering examples,
Scientific Papers | Znanstveni prilozi The Concept of Capsule Architecture as Experiment… P. ŠENK 350-361 21[2013] 2[46] PROSTOR 357

from 1955 as one of the first examples of

megastructure with a diagonally braced verti-
cal frame and inserted highly technological
‘capsules’, which in this case promoted maxi-
mum flexibility of an art museum.32
In addition to Archigram’s nomadic projects,
for instance Blow-out Village (1966) or Free
Time Node: Trailer Cage (1967), Metabolists’
spiral and frame structures that wait to be
completed randomly, such as Kurokawa’s
Takara Beautillon and structures for Kiku-
take’s flexible move-net units, as well as
Yona Friedman’s space frames with ad hoc
cellular dwellings from the second half of the
fifties, other numerous examples of using
and implementing the typology in the 1960s
can be highlighted as paradigmatic examples
of frames and capsule insets. In an early and
typical example from 1964, Wolfgang Döring
proposed relatively traditionally designed,
modular and prefabricated ‘family’ duplex ments of Slovenia and Croatia in the pioneer- Fig. 11. Wolfgang Döring: Stapelhaus
ing times and contemporaneity. (House of stacked units), 1964, model, plan, section
living cells as insets in a multilevel steel Sl. 11. Wolfgang Döring: Stapelhaus (Kuæa s
frame. At the beginning of the seventies Pe- • The autonomous type - With regard to naslaganim jedinicama), 1964., model, tlocrt, presjek
ter Cook recognised potential in Döring’s material experimentations, demands for mo-
housing projects and their use of plastics, as bility and autarchy, the cultural environments
they made ”the idea of the simple prefabri- of Slovenia and Croatia also offer some pio-
cated capsule a near reality”.33 (Fig. 11) neering as well as contemporary examples.
In 1972, Kobe and Garzarolli’s Soft House, Fig. 12. Architectural studio G&B: FA House - an
CONTEMPORARY EXAMPLES WITH the Slovenian ‘protocapsule’ proposal for energetically autonomous folding mobile unit, 2011
Sl. 12. Arhitektonski studio G&B: SMO Kuæa - ener-
MANIFESTATIONS FROM CULTURAL material, technological and social redefini- getski autonomna sklopiva pokretna jedinica, 2011.
ENVIRONMENTS OF SLOVENIA AND CROATIA tion of architecture, dwelling and home,
which introduced a hard foam building with a
SUVREMENI PRIMJERI I NJIHOVE limited, ten-year life span, attempted to re-
MANIFESTACIJE U KULTURNIM spond to contemporary issues of high hous-
SREDINAMA SLOVENIJE I HRVATSKE ing prices and demands for increased mobili-
ty that traditional construction could not
The trends of the experimental approach are tackle.34 In terms of mobility, the Slovenian
illustrated in a comparative overview with se- project of a travelling library from 1947 should
lected examples from the cultural environ- also be mentioned. The concept transformed
the railway station into an ad hoc experimen-
since living units no longer satisfy the necessary criterion tal cultural centre avant la lettre, with a mo-
of mobility after they are built in. [Banham, 1976: 106-107]
bile exhibition held in a freight car, book sale
29 It was described more thoroughly by Reyner Banham
in his paper ”A Clip-on Architecture”. [Banham, 1965: 535] and a dwelling for the librarian.35 Following
30 Examples extend from Paxton’s Crystal Palace in 1851 the path of independent structures like Liv-
and the development of three-dimensional space frame ing Pod, Komatsu ski lodge or Futuro House,
systems to a great interest and use in the 1950s and 1960s, similarly contemporary, formally and struc-
with main protagonists including Buckminster Fuller, Kon-
rad Wachsmann, André Waterkeyn and others. turally diverse designs like Richard Horden’s
31 Banham, 1976: 85 Ski Haus and, last but not least, bivouacs by
32 Banham, 1976: 37-38 Slovenian architect Miha Kajzelj should be
33 Cook, 1970: 87 mentioned (Fig. 10).
34 The project was developed in prof. Ravnikar’s studio
at the Ljubljana School of Architecture. [Kobe, 1972: 11] A unique art example from Slovenia is Marko
35 *** 1975. Although this could hardly be characterised Peljhan’s Makrolab36, a mobile laboratory
as true capsule architecture, Domicijan Serajnik’s project that was installed in several sites around the
is well though-out protocapsule architecture, with at least world in a ten-year period before 2007. Ma-
as much credit for clairvoyance going to the client, i.e. the
Ministry of Education. krolab is (was) an autonomous and self-suf-
36 http://makrolab.ljudmila.org/faq/ [19/1/2013] ficient communications, research and living
37 As a thorough communication among a limited unit, connected to the external world via elec-
number of individuals in an isolated space should produce tronic media and capable of sustaining work
more ‘evolutionary codes’ of social relations than large of four people in physical isolation (Fig. 1).37
social movements. [http://makrolab.ljudmila.org/re-
ports/press/slo /19/1/2013] This transforms the capsule into a social ex-
38 http://makrolab.ljudmila.org/reports/published/pelj- periment.38 Instead of filtrating information
han/ [19/1/2013] and seeking individuality or intimacy, the
358 PROSTOR 2[46] 21[2013] 350-361 P. ŠENK The Concept of Capsule Architecture as Experiment… Scientific Papers | Znanstveni prilozi

residents of the Makrolab capsule are inten- ment and site intervention, i.e. as environ-
sively and literally involved in activities in the mentally-friendly construction.43
global space of flows; this capsule unit is of a
• The connective type - A structural equi-
heterotopian nature, simultaneously func-
valent of Döring’s or even Friedman’s propos-
tioning outside the system and being criti-
als can also be found in Croatia. Andrija Mut-
cally connected to it, and represents a true
njakoviæ44, a pioneer of experimental archi-
example of using the liberating potential of
tecture, developed a project for an apartment
the capsule in the quest for autonomy in con-
temporary space.39 building for the 1968 competition in Osijek so
as to create a flexible system that would fa-
In the field of container-like prefabricated cilitate the merging of positive features of in-
buildings, we can mention examples like the dividual and collective housing construction
Slovenian RIMAMOBIL or the Croatian SMO in a ‘socialist society’. The basic frame struc-
- Sklopivi Mobilni Objekt (FA House) by G&B ture and areas for ensuring basic functional
architectural studio, which is an energetically and hygienic needs is upgraded with person-
autonomous foldable mobile unit and does ally tailored apartment units for residents,
not require a building permission nor connec- who can arrange the layout, form and appear-
tions to the infrastructure.40 They both follow ance of the apartment unit with their own
the path of highly-tailored mobile prefabri- personal engagement.45 The technologically
cated units, which can be used for different feasible and planned rational solution is con-
programmes and can be seen as experiments current with world trends, but can be classi-
in the redefinition of dwelling connected to fied among structures of metaphorical cap-
the site or prescribed relation between the sule systems only conditionally due to an im-
unit and its programme or use (Fig. 12). plied possibility of inserting prefabricated
Fig. 13. Saša Mächtig: Kiosk K-67, 1967-1969 While belonging to the group of autonomous capsule units, potentially evident only in the
Sl. 13. Saša Mächtig: Kiosk K-67, 1967.-1969. - composite units, which can form open model, and since the system was designed as
structures, the K-67 kiosk, a famous Slove- ‘traditional construction’ (Fig. 15).
nian example of a flexible system for urban This group of projects also includes contem-
furniture, which was being designed by Saša porary designs by Studio Up, which used the
Mächtig from 1966 onwards, could hardly be capsule concept in a metaphorical manner in
classified among capsule systems, even projects such as Spectator’s Group head-
though the independent unit could function quarters in Zagreb (Fig. 14), where work are-
as a capsule envelope (Fig. 13).41 The same as, i.e. ‘capsules’46, are set in a structural
can be said for his later UMS system. The ba- frame, as also represented on the facade, or
sic ‘cross’ element functioned either as a a variation on the theme of capsule hotels
closed independent unit or allowed for con- with Goli Bosi Design Hostel in Split.
nections to new units, generating a passable
multicellular system. Therefore, this example In contemporary architectural practice, the
can be classified as a metaphorical capsule capsule concept is metaphorically used also
system, similarly as the 1964 Chenéac’s in the form of prefabricated, monofunctional,
project42 with comparable characteristics. primarily sanitary facilities built in the frame
structure of many hotel, housing or office
Examples of light-weight, prefabricated and
complexes.47 A sensitive authorial and en-
container composite or stacking units are
tirely individual interpretation and design of
omnipresent all around the world. There are
such form but in a completely different set-
several manufacturers of container units in
ting can, for instance, be found in Five Houses
Slovenia and Croatia, while numerous stu-
on Silba by the architects Igor Pedišiæ and Iva
dent projects and, last but not least, Jure Ko-
Letiloviæ, who integrated crucial programmes
tnik’s book and exhibition at the Museum of
Architecture and Design in Ljubljana have re-
cently contributed to the popularisation of 39 Makrolab is (was) a non-profit project financed both
container architecture in the area. The latter by state and interstate institutions as well as private and
mobile capital and individuals. Moreover, the project is
presents such architecture as low-priced transterritorial.
modular construction with an emphasis on 40 http://www.gib.hr/SMO/smo.html [15/6/2013]
individuality and environmental friendliness
41 Although Marjetica Potrè notes that it was not very
- with recycled containers, fast installation, likely for K-67 kiosks to function as a home, this is no
minimum noise-related stress on the environ- longer as unrealisable. [Potrè, 2003: 148; Mächtig, 1969:
60-63]
42 Chenéac, Prototype de cellule polyvalente, 1964. [Bus-
Fig. 14. Lea Pelivan, Toma Plejiæ (Studio UP) bea, 2007: 60]
+ Ivana Franke + Silvio Vujièiæ: Spectator Group’s
Headquarters, 2010, axonometric view with set-in 43 http://www.aml.si/dogodki/aktualno/dogodki-stra-
‘work capsules’ ni/kontejner.html [15/10/2010]; Kotnik, 2008
Sl. 14. Lea Pelivan, Toma Plejiæ (Studio UP) 44 His commitment to architectural experiments is evi-
+ Ivana Franke + Silvio Vujièiæ: Poslovna zgrada dent in many projects [Galoviæ, 2004: 18-19]. The com-
sjedišta Spectator grupe, 2010., aksonometrijski mentary for the 1966 national competition for the project
prikaz s umetnutim ‘radnim jedinicama’ of the Seven Secretaries of SKOJ youth centre in Zagreb
Scientific Papers | Znanstveni prilozi The Concept of Capsule Architecture as Experiment… P. ŠENK 350-361 21[2013] 2[46] PROSTOR 359

for contemporary functioning of an existing

traditional building in five external mono-
functional units without any major interven-
tions within it48, though the project remains
on the level of metaphorical capsules due to
the unfulfilled condition of mobility (Fig. 16).

CONCLUSION
ZAKLJUÈAK
The period from the late fifties of the previ-
ous century onwards was highly favourable
for experimental work by individuals who put
forth proposals for future society and dwell-
ings to provide responses to the actual situa-
tion regarding the social, economic and also
spatial reality. Within this context and result-
ing from possibilities offered by the new
technology, the concept of the capsule was
formed, introducing a living unit intended pri-
marily for the individual or couples without
children and strongly challenging the tradi-
tional perception of home, its material struc-
ture and spatial relations offered by the new
typology. Many designs of modernist minimal ent commitment to experiment can be ex- Fig. 15. Andrija Mutnjakoviæ with collaborators:
living cells for the individual could be regard- pected in contemporary practices, these pio- apartment building for the competition in Osijek,
1968, model, section, elevation
ed as protocapsule units, while the 1960s liv- neering examples reveal concurrent and pro- Sl. 15. Andrija Mutnjakoviæ sa suradnicima:
ing capsules, when compared to the former, gressive practices of architects and designers višestambena zgrada za natjeèaj u Osijeku, 1968.,
represent a technologically compact upgrade also in the cultural environments of Slovenia model, presjek, proèelje
and fulfilment of the mobility condition. and Croatia as early as in the revolutionary Fig. 16. Igor Pedišiæ, Iva Letiloviæ: Five ‘capsules’
sixties of the previous century. on the Silba island, 2011
The capsule concept is a relevant, vivid and
Sl. 16. Igor Pedišiæ, Iva Letiloviæ: Pet ‘kapsula’
significant part of contemporary architectural After comparing pioneering and contempo- na otoku Silbi, 2011.
production and every-day life. Offering a rary designs, it can be concluded that the
clearer definition, it denotes projects that utopian tone of pioneers has been supersed-
build on the tradition of original proposals as ed by productivity, application and viability
well as metaphorical manifestations inspired here and now. Heroic manifestos and their
by them. promises of social change, which would sup-
posedly make capsule architecture truly real-
The purpose of this paper was not to provide isable, were replaced in contemporaneity by
a complete overview of capsule systems in solving housing issues of the current reality
the development of architecture, but prima- in creative fields of architecture, industrial
rily to highlight the origins, basic types, man- design and more or less subversive artistic
ifestations and use of the concept in pioneer-
practices. Products, i.e. capsule dwellings,
ing times and contemporaneity, illustrating
are thus both urban and anti-urban propos-
them with some examples of experimental
als, stimulators and interpositions in public
practices from the cultural environments of
space, environments of retreat and contem-
Slovenia and Croatia. While at least an appar-
plation in the centre of and away from city
noise, as well as exponents and installations
even carries the title ”The Right to Experiment” [Mutnja- at exhibitions, or appear in all of the above-
koviæ, 1988: 85-97]. mentioned environments, testing their own
45 Mutnjakoviæ, 1988: 68 limits with their presence. This establishes,
46 These spaces are designated as ‘work capsules’ and though not always explicitly, a transdiscipli-
integrated in the structure, lacking the condition of mobi-
lity [http://pogledaj.to/arhitektura/studio-up-poslovna- nary discourse of the experiment, which dis-
zgrada-sjedista-spectator-grupe /22/12/2012/]. Although covers and reveals the issues of the individu-
the experimental potential of the capsule concept could al and community, housing typology, build-
be recognised in the project, these spaces can be classi-
fied as capsules on the representational or metaphorical ing and dwelling, function and representation,
level only. and by offering a common architectural de-
47 There are a number of producers and examples of nominator relativises the authority and au-
prefabricated bathroom pods. For example, company from tonomy of disciplines, uniting them in a com-
Slovenia with a long tradition and more than 70.000 ma-
nufactured units is Varis Lendava d.d. [http://en.varis- plex and richer whole that responds to the
lendava.si/references /15/6/2013]. unpredictability of contemporaneity.
48 The project is also called Five Capsules, Silba. [Mrdu-
ljaš, 2012: 104-109] [Translated by: Mojca Trampuš, MA]
360 PROSTOR 2[46] 21[2013] 350-361 P. ŠENK The Concept of Capsule Architecture as Experiment… Scientific Papers | Znanstveni prilozi

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Scientific Papers | Znanstveni prilozi The Concept of Capsule Architecture as Experiment… P. ŠENK 350-361 21[2013] 2[46] PROSTOR 361

Summary
Sažetak

Koncept arhitektonske kapsule kao eksperiment

Podrijetlo i manifestacije s odabranim primjerima u Sloveniji i Hrvatskoj

Koncept kapsule, pod èime se podrazumijeva kom- jenjivi, te koji bi se (kao i cijele kapsule) tako mogli konstrukcije, okvirni ili panel dizajn s konstruktiv-
paktna, minimalna, potpuno namještena i oprem- smatrati potrošnom robom, usvajajuæi pritom pri- nim ojaèanjem na osnovi tipa aglomeracije ili veze.
ljena stambena jedinica, uglavnom je u povijesti stup inaèe karakteristièan za industrijski dizajn u Autonomne stambene jedinice kapsule predstav-
arhitekture povezana s trendom megastruktura i cilju kreiranja novoga životnog stila obilježenog ljaju projekte potencijalnog oslobaðanja glede mo-
utopijskih radikalnih arhitektonskih eksperime- konceptom potencijalne mobilnosti. bilnosti u formi stambenih objekata koji se mogu
nata iz 60-ih godina 20. stoljeæa. Opæepoznate va- Iako je koncept kapsule u Japanu povezan s tradi- rastaviti ili èine kompaktne kontejnerske objekte.
rijacije ovoga koncepta èine hotelske kapsule i pre- cijom nevidljivog (invisible tradition), on je u osno- To su stambene jedinice za ekstremne uvjete i po-
fabricirani sanitarni objekti, konstrukcije za zaštitu vi ponajprije nastao kao odgovor na hitne potrebe kretne ili privremene intervencije. Ipak, sastav-
od atmosferskih utjecaja, te kapsule kao ogranièeni brzorastuæih gradova u kontekstu obnove i neefi- ljanje ili ‘rast’ æelijskih aglomeracija pokazuje se
i/ili kontrolirani graðevni sklopovi ili podruèja koji kasnoga prostornog planiranja, a bio je dodatno složenim zadatkom, ili pak u potpunosti negira
nisu više direktno povezani s izvornim konceptom. ojaèan vjerom u znanost, tehnologiju i modernost njihov potencijal mobilnosti. Integrirane stacionar-
Cilj je rada prikazati podrijetlo, osnovne tipove, u sklopu novoga japanskog društva. Neki su meta- ne kapsule stoga se mogu smatrati kapsulama
manifestacije i upotrebu ovoga tipa stambene jedi- bolisti uspostavili dualnost trajnosti i prijelaznosti samo na metaforièkoj razini.
nice od prvih primjera do suvremenih rješenja, te u svojim projektima veæ krajem 50-ih godina 20. Slièno tome, spajajuæi tip kapsule i njegov odnos
na odabranim primjerima prikazati važnost ovoga stoljeæa. Takve tendencije vidljive su u trajnim me- izmeðu megastrukture i opremljene stambene je-
koncepta u svome prvotnom, ali i metaforiènom gastrukturama s æelijama, tj. stambenim jedinica- dinice kapsule oznaèava pragmatièki sustav na-
obliku u kontekstu kulturnih sredina Slovenije i Hr- ma - kapsulama s kraæim vijekom trajanja koje su mijenjen rješavanju stambenih pitanja s paralelnim
vatske. Podrijetlo i razvoj koncepta kapsule u arhi- iz njih izrastale, no naziv ‘kapsula’ nije bio u široj stvaranjem novoga životnog stila. Nepredvidivost
tekturi može se pratiti kroz teorijske koncepte mo- upotrebi prije druge polovice 1960-ih godina. Te- konaènog izgleda može se dovesti u vezu s ‘oslo-
derne, u kontekstu arhitekture nakon Drugoga svjet- meljni dokument „Deklaracija o kapsuli”, kao i baðajuæim’ anarhizmom, tehno-fetišizmom, dru-
skog rata i u sklopu izrazito tehnološki utemeljene realizacije stambenih objekata kapsula - potvrdili štvenim i politièkim angažmanom, tehnološki uvje-
arhitekture, osobito u Velikoj Britaniji i Japanu. su Kisho Kurokawu kao vodeæeg predstavnika i tovanim ‘prirodnim rastom’ te potencijalom za sta-
Temelj eksperimentalne arhitekture u Velikoj Brita- predvodnika arhitekture kapsule, za koju je vjero- panje pozitivnih obilježja individualne i kolektivne
niji postavili su revizionisti moderne u sklopu Ne- vao da predstavlja oslobaðajuæi potencijal za poje- stambene izgradnje.
zavisne grupe u drugoj polovici 1950-ih godina. dinca i moguænost radikalne transformacije društva Kao rezultat eksperimentiranja u cilju pronalaženja
Radikalna promišljanja o naèinu stanovanja, stam- u cjelini. rješenja za aktualne probleme društvene, ekonom-
benim objektima, životu u gradu i razumijevanju Unatoè prilièno dvosmislenoj definiciji, izvorni kon- ske i prostorne stvarnosti, koncept kapsule snažan
okoliša poslije su razvili prvi protagonisti arhitek- cept kapsule - kako u Velikoj Britaniji tako i u Japa- je izazov tradicionalnoj percepciji kuæe, njezinoj ma-
ture kapsule poèetkom 1960-ih na temelju stapanja nu - odnosi se prije svega na kompaktnu, mobilnu, terijalnoj strukturi i prostornim odnosima u arhitek-
suvremene tehnologije i pop-kulture, konzumeriz- potpuno opremljenu i ergonomski dizajniranu turi. Utopijsku dimenziju prvih rješenja zamijenila je
ma, mobilnosti, masovne proizvodnje te eksperi- stambenu ili monofunkcionalnu jedinicu s ugraðe- u moderno doba produktivnost, primjena i sposob-
mentiranja s novim materijalima. nim rokom trajanja. Dva glavna tipa stambenih je- nost rješavanja stambenih pitanja, kao i privlaèan
U Britaniji, èlanovi Archigram grupe i Cedric Price dinica kapsula mogu se jasno razabrati: prvi je au- prostorni dizajn u kreativnim podruèjima arhitektu-
projektirali su 1964. godine stambene jedinice koje tonomni (autonomous), samodostatni tip kapsule re, industrijskog dizajna i umjetnièkih djelatnosti.
su se nazivale kapsulama. Eksperiment projekti- koji se manifestira kao mobilna arhitektura te ima U konaènici, interdisciplinarni diskurs eksperimen-
ranja stambene jedinice kao kapsule bio je potak- obilježja potpune samodostatnosti i nomadske po- ta oznaèava koncept kapsule kao relevantan kon-
nut konceptom svemirske kapsule kao odgovor na kretljivosti, kompozitne æelijske aglomeracije, bio- cept suvremenoga doba. On razotkriva pitanja koja
pitanja o tehnologiji graðenja i uèinkovitosti. Usto, loške metafore i strukturalizma. Drugi tip je spa- se dotièu individualnog i zajednièkog, stambene
pitanja koja su se odnosila na društvene i kulturne jajuæi (connective) s obilježjima spajanja i priklju- tipologije, graðenja i stambenih objekata, funkcije
promjene, kao i prikladnu stambenu tipologiju, na- èivanja, a može se spojiti, prikljuèiti, objesiti ili i reprezentacije. Na temelju zajednièkoga arhitek-
lazila su svoj odgovor u kontekstu ergonomskog umetnuti u infrastrukturni okvir ili jezgru o kojima tonskog nazivnika on relativizira autoritet i auto-
dizajna kapsule, moguænosti masovne proizvodnje ovisi. U pogledu njihove konstrukcije, oba tipa jedi- nomnost disciplina, ujedinjujuæi ih u složenu i bo-
i moguænosti korištenja elemenata koji bi bili po- nica sadrže primarno masovno proizvedene, prefa- gatiju cjelinu koja nudi odgovor na nepredvidivost
trošni, po potrebi nadograðivani i meðusobno zam- bricirane homogene ili kompozitne tzv. monocoque suvremenoga doba.
PETER ŠENK

Biography
Biografija

PETER ŠENK, PhD, is a lecturer at the Faculty of Civil Dr.sc. PETER ŠENK, predavaè na Graðevinskom fa-
Engineering, University of Maribor, and a practic- kultetu Sveuèilišta u Mariboru. Studirao je arhitek-
ing architect. He studied architecture at the Faculty turu na Arhitektonskom fakultetu Sveuèilišta u
of Architecture, Ljubljana, and Berlage Institute, Ljubljani i na Berlage Institutu u Rotterdamu, Nizo-
Rotterdam, and obtained his PhD in Philosophy zemska. Doktorsku disertaciju iz filozofije i teorije
and Theory of Visual Culture from the Faculty of Hu- vizualne kulture obranio je na Fakultetu za huma-
manities, University of Primorska. He is a co-found- nistièke studije u Kopru. Suosnivaè je arhitekton-
er of Studio Stratum, an architecture and urbanism skog i urbanistièkog biroa Studio Stratum kao i
practice, and Institute for Spatial Policies [IPoP]. Zavoda za prostornu politiku.
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