Saturation... asaturation, desaturation?

We still find saturation as an intangible desideratum of architecture in progression, under permanent construction - an architecture that multiplies itself through repeatability, that multiplies itself mathematically or repeats itself obsessively through mirroring, inclusion and self-regeneration, an insufficient architecture that infinitely self-copies itself, an ultimate architecture that suffocates in its own unsaturated mass. The problem of the reign of quantity continues to provoke dilemmas in theory, ultimately linked to sufficiency, to saturation, constructing a veritable history of that saturated more: less is more, more is more, yes is more, no ^more1. Saturation is ultimately translated in the contemporary period by the domination of matter, a domination of numbers, of the multitude, a specifically baroque dominant much - more is more.

Contemporary culture, as a reaction to the rigor of modernism, respects the crowded imaginary by accepting its image-saturated cities. Diversity and multiplicity become mechanisms in the construction of imaginary architecture, but also in the real works by MVRDV or Steven Holl. This diversity and multiplicity ultimately refer to the sufficiency or insufficiency of architecture, to the constructive substance in the process of saturation.

The saturation that reality fails to attain is the desideratum in the projected fantasy centered on... the image, the ultimate point of fulfillment of architectural substance.

VISUAL SATURATION

The classic case illustrating visual oversaturation is Las Vegas.

Similar to Italo Calvino's ^phantasms2, architectures punctually copied from distinct styles and cultures compose Las Vegas in fragments, without preserving the harmony of a controlled fantasy. The production and reproduction of what is real, interpreted by Baudrillard as the hysteria of our times, is in this case a commercial exploitation in the sense of visual hyperactivity. The rhythm at which the city is built and rebuilt is unreal, going beyond the rationale of a functionally motivated architectural object. "The image of the commercial artery is chaotic" - critics have repeatedly emphasized.

In contrast to the approach of the Romantics, who transposed the frames into the past, pop culture refreshes old architectures, transposing them into illustrations of architectures decomposed in the face of time: apocalyptic landscapes, crumbling monuments. The fragmented, crowded images, the empty buildings, presented in an almost surrealist manner, were to influence G. G.'s Capricci series 100 years later. B. Piranesi. The engraving La via Apia depicts the built environment as a collection of infinite depths, capitalizing on visual hyperexcitability.

Another complementary hypostasis is that of the cities described by Italo Calvino, cities that embody different temporal aspects beyond a temporal-spatial logic. In the sense in which Las Vegas rebuilds itself with an accelerated frequency (the imaginary architecture portrays the same temporal struggle), the layers, often representations of the same object, reproduce themselves in distinct times. Spatio-temporal analogy is also evident in the photomontage works of the photographer (architect) Filip Dujardin, who portrays an architecture frozen in a certain state specific only to himself, a conglomerated sum, a collection of fragments. A generalized conclusion is that of verifying the substance of imaginary architecture as multiple and diverse (according to Gilles Deleuze's theory), an architecture portrayed in the sense of a self-sufficient entity.

From visual to conceptual saturation is a small step, which contemporary architecture makes mainly in the plane of cinematographic representations and photography, just as, in the past, over-saturation was the weakness of pictorial works... in essence, saturation speaks of a psychological sufficiency.

2. Calvino, Italo - Invisible Cities. ALLFA, București, 2011.

We also encounter saturation as an intangible goal of architecture in progress, in permanent construction; an architecture dividing through repetition, multiplying mathematically or repeating itself obsessively through mirroring, inclusion and self-regeneration, an insufficient architecture which copies itself infinitely, an ultimate architecture suffocating in its own unsaturated mass. The issue of the predomination of quantity continues to give rise, in theory, to dilemmas that are ultimately related to sufficiency, to saturation, building a genuine history of that saturated more: less is more, more is more, yes is more, no ^more1. Saturation ultimately translates, in our times, in a domination of matter, of numbers, of multitudes, a prevailing, characteristically baroque more: more is more.

Contemporary culture, as a reaction against the rigorousness of modernism, re-speculates the crowded imaginary, accepting its cities saturated with imagery. Diversity and the multiple become mechanisms in the construction of imaginary architecture, as well as in the real works signed MVRDV or Steven Holl. This diversity and this multiple ultimately refer to the sufficiency or insufficiency of architecture, to the constructive substance in course of saturation.

The saturation that reality fails to reach is a goal of that fantasy projected and focused on... image, the supreme point of an accomplished architectural substance.

Visual saturation

The classic case illustrating visual saturation is Las Vegas.

Just like Italo ^Calvino2's phantasms, Las Vegas is composed of architectures copied punctually from distinct styles and cultures, which no longer preserve the harmony of a controlled fantastic world. The production and reproduction of the real, interpreted by Baudrillard as the hysteria of our times, is in this case a commercial exploitation in the sense of visual hyperactivity. The pace at at which the city is built and re-built is unreal, going beyond the reason of an architectural object that is functionally motivated. "The image of the commercial artery is chaotic", the critics repeatedly underlined.

By contrast with the approach of the romantics, which transposed frames into the past, pop culture refreshes old architectures by transposing them into architectures decomposing in the face of time: apocalyptic landscapes, monuments in ruin. The fragmented, agglomerated images, the buildings devoid of content presented in almost surrealist fashion were to influence, after one hundred years, the Capricci series of G. B. Piranesi. La via Apia etching depicts the built environment as a collection with infinite depths, placing its stake on visual hyper-excitability.

Another complementary facet is that of the cities described by Italo Calvino, cities which incorporate different temporal aspects, beyond a spatial-temporal logic. Considering the sense in which Las Vegas is being rebuilt at an accelerated pace (imaginary architecture portrays the same temporal struggle), the layers, frequently representations of the same object, are reproduced at different times. The spatial-temporal a-logic is also intentional in the photo-montages of photographer (and architect) Filip Dujardin, who captures an architecture frozen in a specific stage, a conglomerate, a collection of fragments. A general conclusion would be the verification of the substance of imaginary architecture as multiple and diversity (according to the theory of Gilles Deleuze), an architecture portrayed as a self-standing entity.

From visual saturation to conceptual saturation is a small step, which is taken by contemporary architecture especially in the field of cinematic representations and in photography, the same way, in the past, super-saturation was the weakness of pictorial works... After all, saturation refers to psychological sufficiency.

2. Calvino, Italo - The Invisible Cities. ALLFA, Bucharest, 2011.