Paul Scheerbart

Home > Other > Paul Scheerbart > Page 7


  wait until pyrotechnics have been further developed.

  88

  Colour-lit pools, fountains and waterfalls

  This chapter shall be left to the landscape architects. They will tackle

  the job with great enthusiasm and be determined to offer more than

  the rococo period offered us.

  89

  The discovery of the brick bacillus

  Brick decays. Hence fungus. The discovery of the brick bacillus is

  no great discovery, but now the doctor also has a major interest in

  finally ousting the cult of brick.

  In the cellars of brick houses the air is always full of brick bacilli;

  glass architecture needs no cellars beneath it.

  90

  The nervous effect of very bright light unsoftened by colour

  We have to thank very bright lights, in part, for the nervous ailments

  of our time. Light softened by colour calms the nerves. In many san-

  atoria it is recommended by nerve doctors as beneficial.

  78

  79

  91

  Railway stations and glass architecture

  For station premises, which have to be screened at least partially

  against wind and rain, glass architecture is so appropriate that noth-

  ing further needs to be said about it.

  92

  Uniform street lamps and their elimination

  If we must mention something detestable, this is, in my view, those

  street lamps which in every town look so alike that one cannot help

  wondering how mankind can be capable of such monotonous repe-

  tition. Happily, this repetition can be quickly eliminated by combina-

  tions of coloured glass hanging-lamps, which are adaptable to a vast

  number of forms. This elimination will of course come very soon.

  93

  Present-day travel

  Today people travel from nervous habit: they want to have something

  different and although they know that all hotels and towns, mountain

  villages and health resorts have a dreadful sameness, they travel there

  just the same. They travel, knowing well that they will find nothing

  better wherever they go.

  80

  94

  Future travel

  In the future, people will travel in order to look at new glass archi-

  tecture, which will differ widely in various parts of the world.

  To travel for the sake of glass architecture has at all events a

  meaning; one may surely expect new glass effects in other places.

  One may also assume that nine-tenths of the daily press will report

  only on new glass effects. The daily press wants novelty — so it will

  not be unfriendly to glass.

  95

  The Doppler and the Zeeman effects

  It has often been said that glass is not a ‘precious’ commodity.

  In contrast to this, remember Frauenhofer’s lines of the glass

  spectrum. In addition, Christian Doppler discovered that light, when

  it approaches or recedes, breaks up Frauenhofer’s lines into infra-red

  and ultra-violet. By using photography it has been possible to mea-

  sure this, and from these measurements we know precisely whether

  stars of weak luminosity are approaching us or receding, and at what

  speed. Without glass the Doppler effect would not be discernable; I

  should think that this speaks volumes for the importance of glass.

  The Zeeman effect occurs through the action of a magnetic field

  and a flame; the spectrum then shows Frauenhofer’s lines suddenly

  triplicated. From the ‘triplets’ one can determine the existence of

  magnetic fields, which are detectable in sun-storms and explain the

  constitution of sun-spots. I believe that the Zeeman effect also speaks

  volumes for the importance of glass.

  Thus one can no longer be permitted to describe glass as of little

  value; whoever does that has no right to be considered an educated

  person.

  81

  96

  Which spheres of interest are fostered

  or endangered by glass architecture

  The livelihood of masons and carpenters — from what has been said

  above — is clearly threatened; also that of the whole timber industry,

  joiners, turners, etc. But the process will not be so rapid that it will

  be impossible to assimilate those affected into other trades; they

  will have plenty of time to transfer to the metal and glass industries.

  Very many new skills are required, and nothing stands in the way

  of change.

  Admittedly, many locksmiths say that a mason could never

  become a locksmith; the locksmith only says this because he fears

  competition.

  But the spheres which will inevitably be stimulated by glass archi-

  tecture are principally heavy industry, the chemical dye industry and

  the glass industry.

  97

  Heavy industry

  The introduction of iron into house-building will, beyond question,

  bring so many new orders to heavy industry that it could continue

  to exist even if all cannon-making were stopped. Accordingly, heavy

  industry would be well advised not to take the ideas discussed in

  this book too lightly; they will bring it great pecuniary advantages.

  In any case, heavy industry should note that there will be many new

  potential clients because of glass architecture.

  82

  98

  The chemical dye industry

  The same thing applies to the colour industry. Glass architecture will

  consume vast quantities of colour.

  99

  The glass industry

  It is undeniable that the glass industry has the lion’s share in glass

  architecture. The present scale of the industry, however, is inadequate

  for the greater demand; it must expand in proportion. The financial

  success which will result from this is quite incalculable.

  100

  The influence of coloured glass on the plant world

  Glass architecture will also exercise an influence on botanical gar-

  dens; entirely colourless, plain glass will be gradually abandoned.

  Coloured glass will only be used externally, where it does not absorb

  too much light. The plants will then be exposed experimentally to

  coloured light, and the experts may well have some surprises. The

  experiments should not be carried out in haste.

  101

  Art in bridge building

  There have been times when the engineer has had the upper hand

  over the architect; not unnatural y, for the engineer was more needed.

  Today the engineer no longer wants to stuff all the fees into

  his pocket; he gladly allows half to the architect. This will soon be

  apparent in bridge building, where there are high artistic ambitions.

  One could wish that these related to glass architecture.

  83

  102

  The transformation of the Earth’s surface

  So many ideas constantly sound to us like a fairy-tale, when they

  are not real y fantastic or utopian at all. Eighty years ago, the steam

  railway came, and undeniably transformed the face of the earth.

  From what has been said so far the earth’s surface will once again

  be transformed, this time by glass architecture. If it comes, a meta-

  morphosis will occur, but other factors
must naturally be taken into

  consideration, which cannot be discussed here.

  The present brick ‘culture’ of the city, which we all deplore, is

  due to the railway. Glass architecture will only come if the city as

  we know it goes. It is completely clear to all those who care about

  the future of our civilization that this dissolution must take place.

  To labour the point is useless.

  We all know what is meant by colour; it forms only a small part

  of the spectrum. But we want to have that part. Infra-red and ultra-

  violet are not perceptible to our eyes — but ultra-violet is perceptible

  to the sensory organs of ants. If we cannot at the moment accept

  that our sensory organs will develop appropriately overnight, we are

  justified in accepting that we should first reach for what is within

  our grasp — i.e., that part of the spectrum which we are able to take

  in with our own eyes — in fact, the miracles of colour, which we are

  in a position to appreciate ourselves. In this, only glass architecture,

  which will inevitably transform our whole lives and the environment

  in which we live, is going to help us. So we must hope that glass

  architecture will indeed transform the face of our world.

  84

  103

  The transformation of the official architect

  When the private client wants to build, he looks for the best archi-

  tect. When the state wants to build, government architects are at its

  disposal — not the best architects, who are generally freelancers. This

  is a deplorable situation, and it is the state that one chiefly deplores.

  These official architects, who are always hamstrung by the bureau-

  cracy (hence their inhibitions and conservatism), must once again

  become free; otherwise they will hinder future architectural progress.

  One sees from the buildings produced by official architects that they

  are scared of colour; scared of ridicule. This remarkable colour-

  shyness stems from old Peter Cornelius who would have nothing to

  do with colour.

  In the botanical gardens at Dahlem there is as yet no orchid

  house. This is bound to be a glass palace. Its construction must be

  already assigned to government architects. I am curious to see the

  result. Heating by (ceramic) stoves has been proposed, for they are

  supposed to be better-suited to orchids than central heating; I do

  not know whether the construction of the stoves is being entrusted

  to a government master-potter.

  85

  86

  104

  The psychological effects of the

  glass architectural environment

  The peculiar influence of coloured glass light was already known

  to the priests of ancient Babylon and Syria; they were the first to

  exploit the coloured glass hanging lamp in the temples, and the

  coloured glass ampul a was later introduced into churches throughout

  Byzantium and in Europe. From these were developed the stained

  glass windows of the Gothic period; it is not to be wondered at that

  these make an especially festive impression, but such an impression

  from coloured glass is inevitably inherent in glass architecture; its

  effect on the human psyche can accordingly only be good, for it

  corresponds to that created by the windows of the Gothic cathedrals

  and Byzantium glass ampullæ. Glass architecture makes homes into

  cathedrals, with the same effects.

  87

  105

  A composed and settled nation,

  when glass architecture comes

  When home life has reached the stage where even the wildest fancies

  appear to be realized, the longing for something different ceases;

  people will travel only to learn about a particular type of glass art

  and possibly to bring it home — to be able to reproduce it in a similar

  design.

  Perhaps somewhere one may discover the art of making glass

  fibres like brocade, so that the fibres, viewed from different angles,

  wil show different colour effects. Perhaps somewhere they can make

  a lace-like fabric from glass fibres and fix it to a darker glass wal of

  one colour; an intimate effect might result, and this would make for

  a homey appearance, which one would leave reluctantly; a curtain

  effect would be created. Perhaps then one would only travel to find

  out about new glass crafts; much that was new might emerge from

  old designs. But the entirely new is also to be expected from the great

  inventors of our own and future times.

  106

  More coloured light!

  We must not strive to increase the intensity of light — today it is

  already too strong and no longer endurable. But a gentler light is

  worth striving for. Not more light! — ‘more coloured light!’ must be

  the watchword.

  88

  107

  The main entrance

  In my opinion, the entrance to a great palace should always be an

  open hall of many glass walls, gathered together one upon another

  like the petals of an exquisite flower. The best architects should

  devote themselves particularly to entrance-hal construction, and then

  invite the interior designers to surpass the complicated architectonic

  effects. This should create a splendid challenge; and it would simply

  be necessary for the client to bear the cost and not come to the end

  of his financial resources too quickly.

  108

  The monumental

  The pyramids are monumental. Cologne cathedral, too, is monumen-

  tal — the Eiffel tower is also often so described nowadays, but the

  idea of what is monumental will be changed by glass architecture.

  Glass towers will be built deep in the sea, creating a special kind of

  luxury architecture, cool and very peaceful. Many people might think

  of giant windmills, with sails over a hundred metres long; but town

  hall and powder-magazine towers might not be suitable for windmill

  purposes; brick architecture would not stand up to a severe storm.

  109

  Streets and highways as light-column avenues

  The verges of streets and highways will no longer be planted with

  trees, which are not high enough for the purpose, but columns of

  light, provided with festoons of lights and shedding constantly chang-

  ing coloured light, would be highly appropriate for verges.

  89

  110

  Chemistry and technics in the twentieth century

  We are not at the end of a cultural period — but at the beginning. We

  still have extraordinary marvels to expect from technics and chem-

  isty, which should not be forgotten. This ought to give us constant

  encouragement. Unsplinterable glass should be mentioned here, in

  which a celluloid sheet is placed between two sheets of glass and

  joins them together.

  111

  Glass culture

  After all the above, we can indeed speak of a glass culture. The

  new glass environment will completely transform mankind, and it

  remains only to wish that the new glass culture will not find too

  many opponents. It is to be hoped, in fact, that glass culture will

  have ever fewer opponents; to cling to th
e old is in many matters

  a good thing; in this way at any rate the old is preserved. We, too,

  want to cling to the old — the pyramids of ancient Egypt should most

  certainly not be abolished.

  But we also want to strive after the new, with all the resources

  at our disposal; more power to them!

  Translated by James Palmes

  90

  THE CRYSTAL VISION OF PAUL S C H E E R B A R T

  “Glashäuser: Bruno Taut’s Glaspalast auf der Werkbund-Ausstellung in Cöln”

  (Glass houses: Bruno Taut’s Glass Palace at the Cologne Werkbund Exhibition)

  by Paul Scheerbart was originally published in the March 1914 issue of the jour-

  nal of technology, culture, and life, Technische Monatshefte: Technik für Alle

  (Engineering monthly: Technology for all), Franckh’sche Verlagshandlung,

  Stuttgart. Taut’s model for the Glass House is reproduced on the opening page

  of Scheerbart’s article. This preview of the Glass House was based only on the

  model and architectural drawings from Taut’s office, as the actual building

  would not be completed until the official opening of the Glass House four

  months later. Scheerbart had hoped that his book Glass Architecture would be

  published by Technische Monatshefte, but perhaps due to its construction as a

  kind of modernist “novel” it was instead published by the artistic imprint of the

  magazine Der Sturm (The storm).

  92

  Paul Scheerbart

  Glass Houses: Bruno Taut’s

  Glass Palace at the

  Cologne Werkbund Exhibition

  Iron and ferroconcrete are the two building materials that are truly suit-

  able for architecture today. Along with these, another material has recently

  gained favor in the building industry: glass — the extensive use of glass has

  already become typical in modern industrial building. At this year’s Werk-

  bund Exhibition in Cologne, new possibilities for glass’s use in architecture

  wil be revealed. Bruno Taut, builder of the iron monument at the Leipzig

  Architecture Exhibition, wil build a “monument of glass” for the Werk-

  bund Exhibition. The il ustrations included here show what it wil look like.

  This glass palace is designed above al to prove that glass can be used

  for much more than just windows; wal s, too, can be built of glass. Glass’s

  translucence (not transparence) makes it unparal eled for wal s, since no

  other building material can achieve such magnificent effects. Taut’s Glass

 

‹ Prev