“Form
ever follows
function.”
Architect Louis
Sullivan, 1896
“Form follows historical precedent.”
Louis
Sullivan's partner, civil engineer Dankmar Adler, 1896 | | 
Polyvinyl
chloride (PVC) pipe
Chicken&Egg Public Projects |
| | Every
form has multiple functions. Every function has multiple forms. The selection
of form may be the result of tradition, politics, mathematical calculations, price,
availability of materials, rules of thumb, intuition, or fashion. The idea that
“structural correctness” leads to a pleasing form, or vice-versa, is false. Design
is a process of choice.
Water supply and treatment infrastructure depends
on pipes of plastic, concrete, copper, iron, and steel. What is the function of
pipe? Water and waste must run through it. But that consideration is only the
beginning. Engineers must balance many factors: bending during installation; ease
of connecting lengths of pipe; movement of the earth due to freezing and thawing;
type and pressure of pipe contents; intensity of use; impact of street traffic;
corrosion from inside and out. The choice is “pipe,” but there are many choices.
|
