LARS SPUYBROEK

NOX ARCHITECTS
INTRODUCTION

Lars Spuybroek is an
renowned architect-artist-
writer hailing from the
Netherlands.
He is an ardent believer of
John Ruskin ( famous english
Art Critic)
He is the Director of NOX
Architects based in the
Netherlands.
 CONCEPTS
Lars Spuybroek is famous for creating and following
a framework that uses theories of Art which is brought to
realisation by modern digital tools.
ART ( inspired by Nature and artificial ideas ) + Digital
Tools = Variable Design Outputs

DIGITAL
ART DESIGN
tools
 RUSKINS VITAL BEAUTY
Beauty is the principal ambition / motivation to
achieve through means of Art and Architecture
According to Spuybroek,words like
Fragmentation,Deconstruction,Abstraction,Fracture and
Purity were descriptions of form making that usually
denoted opposition to the concept of beauty but is the
contrary.
Usually Real Beauty is associated with classical
aesthetic principles like proportion, harmony and unity in
composition.
Ruskins ideology of Vital Beauty conveys the idea that
beauty is present in imperfection,fragility and variation
Active Parts/Elements that are NOT balanced or stable,
but composed to create enganging and beautiful
compositions.
 LARS Aspects of Beauty
Lars named aspects of beauty based on patterns that
are derived from Nature and those that were created by
Man-Made means. They were :
ROUGHNESS
IMPERFECTION
OPULENCE
GRACE
INCANDESCENCE
FRAGILITY & VEILING
SMOOTHNESS
ROUGHNESS
 ROUGHNESS
Roughness refers to Fracted elements of
geometry similar to those formed organically on
rock formations,coastlines and mountainous
terrain.
It refers to the creation of broken textured
surfaces that are typically broken along the
vertical axis rather than the horizontal axis.
Thus nature creates sharp edged geometrical
forms that tend to repeat itself constantly and
consistently
IMPERFECTION
 IMPERFECTION
The concept of Imperfection can be explained
through the mud-cracking patterns inherent in
nature.
Imperfection allows for erroneous formations (
simply put mistakes/errors) to create
harmonious compositions while observing a
larger picture or visual frame.
The Mud-Cracking in Nature takes place in
different circumstances creating highly irregular
geometries but forms aesthetical compositions
when they are perceived as a whole ( macro
scale ) rather individually.
OPULENCE
 OPULENCE
Opulence here is to create a sense of richness and
eloquence by the repetition and abundant use of
particular selected elements.
The abundant use of these entities create a composed
organisation that is centered around them.
In the above example, there are cubic forms-each with its
own unique dimensional attributes - sharing a common
identity .
The organic repetition of these elements result in
generating a composition that has these cubes as the
centre of focus with subtle background elements.
The result is an united , harmonious composition.
GRACE
 GRACE
To convey the sense of grace , Lars beckons us
to consider classical Greek Sculpture.
Movement and posture is indicated by the form
that is preserved in the form of sculpture.
Orientation and Movement that resembles that
of a genuine human can be recognised.
The train of thought that follows analysing
graceful forms is whether these can be
explored in the creation of Form?
INCANDESCENCE
 INCANDESCENCE
Incandescence can be defined as the emission of
light that is intense and concentrated.
Lars concept is to create and structure elements
that glow- create visual patterns that beautify
form.
Lars states that incandescence adds extra
dimensionality to built form and changes
perception about the same.
This concept can also be used to effectively
create variable environments that can create a
sense of different every time it is observed.
FRAGILITY & VEILING
 FRAGILITY & VEILING
The concept of Fragility is to focus on the
weak elements of the design and transform the
same into a strong component
Veiling in Lars work process required him to
focus and identify the weak-spots/ weak-links
and find a way to hide/cover them while
highlighting the more beautiful elements.
The use of these concepts helped him to create
intricate structures (created by fusion of
singularly weak elements to create a strong
structure) that allowed sufficient light and
permeable systems
FRAGILITY & VEILING
SMOOTHNESS
 SMOOTHNESS
Smoothness is the opposite of Roughness.
Rounded Geometries reflect smoothness.
Lars points to the example of the sand dunes
formed in nature .The exerting forces of the wind
in particular motion results in the creation of
these round and smooth patterns
Lars working process included study of the
Bifurcations ( the points of division), the Offsets
between them and the Intervals created by the
exertion of Force.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtwWqB
vHiJ4