Form vs Function

Form is the Function of Form

It was in my Mathematics for Arts and Design class logical discussion about form and function that I asked the question if there ever could be a form that does not have function. And indeed, I couldn't find any form in universe, real or virtual that wouldn't have a function. Once a form is created it is bound to have a direct or indirect function - it will either cast shadows in light, it will take up space in a room, or it will do something more complex like a piece of furniture or a building. Once forms are put into a context they interact with the context or interact with other forms in the context. So there is bound to be some sort of function fit for the form. Even visual art-works have certain functions when they are hang in a gallery - they educate or inspire, entertain or inflict moods, tell a story or an idea. 

However modern designers, architects and artists quarrel on about which has more power or which comes first in form vs function. Luis Sullivan was the one to suggest that "form ever follows function". In essence he argues that design is pure when the process of function and form naturally define and express each other leaving out the unnatural ornamentation in design. While 20th century modernist architects and designers following the doctrines of Functionalism, such as Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe, argued that form follows function, we saw several architectural movements that showed otherwise - for example the dutch structuralists, as mentioned in my previous blog posts, showed that the function could be created through the interrelationship of forms. 

Oscar Niemeyer Sketches

Another great example of function following the form could be seen in numerous buildings designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer. Niemeyer said that he was influenced by Le Corbusier, but it didn't prevent him from going in different direction to define the functionality of space. Niemeyer preferred free flowing curves to form spaces which would make up the function. 

"I am not attracted to straight angles or to the straight line, hard and inflexible, created by man. I am attracted to free-flowing, sensual curves. The curves that I find in the mountains of my country, in the sinuousness of its rivers, in the waves of the ocean, and on the body of the beloved woman. Curves make up the entire Universe, the curved Universe of Einstein." Oscar Niemeyer (2000)

Oscar Niemeyer Sketches

The different formations of curving concrete of Niemeyer's Cathedral Brasilia not only shape the large congregation area but also incorporate lighting and acoustics to create an environment fit for its function. Niemeyer also liked to use curving ramps that swiveled around the perimeters of and penetrating into the buildings such as the Niteroi Contemporary Art Museum, Brazilian National Museum, Oscar Niemeyer Museum in Curitiba. The curving and swiveling ramps defined the flow from one space to another thus it defined the function of mobility. The curves themselves are inspired by forms in landscape or feminine forms.

"My work is not about 'form follows function'," wrote Oscar Niemeyer, "but 'form follows beauty' or, even better, 'form follows feminine'."

So to go back and answer the question of what follows what will be like answering to what came first, the chicken or the egg. It is a paradoxical answer - form could follow the function and function could follow the form. One thing I learned from modern design theory is that nothing is set in black and white - there could always be something in between. So when designing, think of form and function as one and whole, equally important.

References
Niemeyer, Oscar (2000). The Curves of Time. In O. Niemeyer, The Memoirs of Oscar Niemeyer (pp. 62 and 169-170). London: Phaidon.
Rawsthorn, Alice (2009, May 30). The Demise of ‘Form Follows Function. Retrieved from The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/01/arts/01iht-DESIGN1.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&
Wainwright, Oliver (2012, December 6) Oscar Niemeyer: the man behind the monuments. Retrieved from The Guardian:
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2012/dec/06/oscar-niemeyer-brazilian-architect-memoirs
Weitz, Robert (2013, March 21). Form Follows Function – A Truism That Isn’t True. Retrieved from The Brand Wash: http://www.thebrandwash.com/2013/03/21/form-follows-function-a-truism-that-isnt-true/
Images
Form is the function of Form (2014). Retrieved from

http://fungivibrations.wordpress.com/2014/01/24/form-is-the-function-of-form/

Oscar Niemeyer Sketches. Retrieved from

http://spphotographyproject.blogspot.ca/2013/06/blog-post.html