Abstract：Air conditioning technology was increasingly used in the latter half of the 20th century. It not only became a typical representation of the environmental control technologies but profoundly re-oriented the path of architectural practice and discourse. Recognizing the huge impact of the ever-increasing mechanical services, Reyner Banham preset the notion of “environmental-bubble” in the 1960s, which served as a starting point of this study. This paper reveals the intersection and contradiction between the environmental control technologies represented by air-conditioning and the core propositions of architecture through three dimensions: interiorized urbanism, standardized comfort and the “excessive” comfort. It points out that though the “environmental bubble” appears to be promising, “full control” is in fact an illusion, and that no matter how technology is incredibly advanced, its place and role in architecture still needs to be approached with caution and appropriateness. This is not limited to the environmental control technology as represented by air conditioning.
沈洁，史永高* . 空调的“虚”诺 ——瑞纳·班纳姆的“环境泡泡”及其在建筑学中的幻灭[J]. 新建筑, 2021, 39(6): 21-27.
SHEN Jie,SHI Yonggao. The False Promise of Air Conditioning: Reyner Banham's “Environmental-Bubble” and its Disillusion in the Architectural Discourse. New Architecture, 2021, 39(6): 21-27.
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