Form follows function

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The expression form follows function ( English ; ' form follows function' , in German often also used as the full sentence “ form follows function ”) ( FFF ) is a design principle, particularly from product design and architecture . The shape (outer shape) of objects should be derived from their function or, if necessary, their purpose ; In return, once the shaping has been completed, conclusions can be drawn from the shape of the designed object about its function or purpose.

Emergence

The term was first mentioned by the American sculptor Horatio Greenough , who spoke of form follows function in connection with the organic principles of architecture as early as 1852 .

The term was taken up in architecture a short time later and is part of a famous saying by the American architect and main representative of the Chicago School , Louis Sullivan , one of the first great high-rise architects . The facades of the early high-rise buildings were partially completely ornamented .

“It is the law of all organic and inorganic, all physical and metaphysical, all human and superhuman things, all genuine manifestations of the head, heart and soul, that life is recognizable in its expression, that form always follows function. "

- from Sullivan's essay: "The tall office building artistically considered", published in 1896, in which he quotes the saying of his partner Dankmar Adler , who in turn had taken it over from Henri Labrouste .

The saying appears again in Sullivan's essay:

“Whether it be the sweeping eagle in his flight, or the open apple-blossom, the toiling work-horse, the blithe swan, the branching oak, the winding stream at its base, the drifting clouds, over all the coursing sun, form ever follows function, and this is the law. Where function does not change form does not change. "

“Whether it's the solemn eagle in its flight or the open apple blossom, the struggling workhorse, the graceful swan, the branching oak, the meandering stream at its source, the drifting clouds, above all the shining sun - the shape follows always the function, and this is the law. Where the function does not change, the form does not change. "

- Louis Sullivan : The tall office building artistically considered , 1896

Sullivan does not call for jewelry or ornaments to be dispensed with, as ornaments are also a functional element in prestigious buildings, for example. Aesthetics and symbolism themselves also have a function, especially when it comes to living space for people. For Sullivan, man and architecture were inextricably linked:

"The way you are, so are your buildings."

- Sullivan 1924

bauhaus

The Bauhaus interpreted, unlike Sullivan, the design principle of "form follows function" as " waiver of any ornament ". Even then, critics like Adolf Loos raised the objection that an ("ornament-free") oversized glass facade of a high-rise building was also a kind of ornament without any practical use. The influence of “form follows function” in the products developed at the Bauhaus is more evident than in architecture. The use of new materials and technologies in the workshops of the Bauhaus often opened up revolutionary perspectives in the development of everyday objects - not least from an economic point of view - in the design of everyday objects of all kinds, from lamps to architecture.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ McCarter, Robert: Frank Lloyd Wright. London 2010 (6th edition), p. 14.
  2. ^ The tall office building artistically considered , Lippincott's Magazine, March 1896

Literature and Sources

  • Louis Sullivan: The tall office building artistically considered , 1896.
  • Donald Drew Egbert: The Idea of ​​Organic Expression and American Architecture . In: S. Persons (Ed.): Evolutionary Thought in America . Yale University Press, New Haven 1950.
  • Henry Petroski: The Evolution of Useful Things: How Everyday Artifacts - From Forks and Pins to Paper Clips and Zippers - Came to be as They are . 1992. ISBN 0-679-74039-2
  • Susan Lambert: Form Follows Function? Design in the 20th Century . Victoria & Albert Museum, London 1993.
  • Jan Michl: Form follows WHAT? , 1995.
  • Bruce Deitrick Price: Form follows function? Actually, no ( Memento of March 11, 2010 in the Internet Archive ).
  • Elisabetta di Stefano: Form follows function? misunderstanding and value of a Sullivan's concept . In: Cloud Cuckoo Land . tape 17 , 2012, ISSN  1430-8363 , p. 38-44 ( cloud-cuckoo.net [PDF]).