A Discourse on Method: The Segal System

Author: John McKean Year: 1987 (Architese, "Einfaches Bauen") Source type: article Raw file: raw/articles/mckean-1987-segal-system.md

Summary

McKean presents the architecture of Walter Segal (1907–1986) as "common-sense" architecture rooted in everyday reality — a rational, timber-frame building system that enables ordinary, non-skilled people to build their own houses. Segal's method (developed from his 1966 prototype) uses precision-calculated standard materials "uncut … in the shape given," and its world-view turns architects into "enablers." His self-builders, chosen by lottery from public-housing waiting lists, build their own homes; for Segal, "commonality is not embodied in the image of connected urban spaces, but in collaborative action."

Key Claims

Common-sense method: like Viollet-le-Duc's Eugene, Segal is "full of common-sense ingenuity"; "in architecture there is a method to be followed in all cases … but there are no definite prescriptions or rules." A "logical step-by-step common sense," rationalizing all details.
The Segal system: high-quality, stress-graded timber of minimum section, uncut standard sheets/panels; details "based on things which touch and are not fixed" (posts on lead caps, panels held by pressure, live roofing); no wet trades; the Bill of Quantities as a working detail and accurate estimate. "Understandable excitement: that is what I want from architecture."
Self-build and the enabling role: Segal invented "the impossible idea of ordinary, non-skilled working-class men and women from the waiting list for public authority housing, building their own homes" (retirees, single mothers, families). Self-builders gain "satisfaction and confidence"; "now there's nothing we won't try." Segal: "The principle of self-help will have to be introduced on a much more general scale"; "Architects will have to be trained to be enablers."
World-view and the everyday: "Architecture is not sculpture. … Buildings should not be too assertive"; clients are "involved in place making, not in sharing a made place." "His interest is the process of housing and inhabitation, not the product of architecture." Following Morris's motto: things people get pleasure in making and using.
Criticism: the strongest critique of Segal's position "is this lack of space for the collective, for the social realm"; no street/terrace greater than the sum of parts — but Segal replies that communality lies in "collaborative action," not the image of connected urban spaces.
Biography: childhood at Monte Verità (Ascona), turning down the Bauhaus (he "wanted to learn to build first"), learning timber from Wachsmann's Holzbau; his 1966 prototype built in two weeks for £600.

Connections

Concepts: Everyday Architecture · Dwelling · Authorship · Flat Ontology Authors: John McKean · Walter Segal Debates: Genius vs. Bureaucracy Related source notes: Buildings Without Architects (May & Reid) · The 'Bread & Butter' of Architecture (Agarez & Mota)

Direct Quotes

"'Understandable excitement; that is what I want from architecture,' Walter Segal once said."

"[H]is interest is the process of housing and inhabitation, not the product of architecture."

"Architects will have to be trained to be enablers. … The course of architectural education must be completely changed."

"[C]ommunality is not embodied in the image of connected urban spaces, but in collaborative action."

Open Questions

Does the Segal self-build system offer a genuine model for the everyday/dwelling (architect as enabler), or does its celebration of individual authorship of one's own home risk ignoring the collective/street that McKean's criticism identifies?