Performance-Oriented Architecture (PDF)

Architecture is on the brink. It is a discipline in crisis. Over
the last two decades, architectural debate has diversified to the
point of fragmentation and exhaustion. What is called for is
an overarching argument or set of criteria on which to approach the
design and construction of the built environment. Here, the
internationally renowned architect and educator Michael Hensel
advocates an entirely different way of thinking about architecture.
By favouring a new focus on performance, he rejects longstanding
conventions in design and the built environment. This not only
bridges the gap between academia and practice, but, even more
significantly, the treatment of form and function in design. It
also has a far-reaching impact on knowledge production and
development, placing an important emphasis on design research in
architecture and the value of an interdisciplinary approach.

Though 'performance' first evolved as a concept in
the humanities in the 1940s and 1950s, it has never previously been
systematically applied in architecture in an inclusive manner. Here
Michael Hensel offers Performance-Orientated Architecture as an
integrative approach to architectural design, the built environment
and questions of sustainability. He highlights how core concepts
and specific traits, such as climate, material performance and
settlement patterns, can put architecture in the service of the
natural environment. A wide range of examples are cited to support
his argument, from traditional sustainable buildings, such as the
Kahju Bridge in Isfahan and the Topkapí Palace in Istanbul to
more contemporary works by Cloud 9, Foreign Office Architects,
Steven Holl and OCEAN.