early 20th c architecture
TRANSCRIPT
20th Century Architecture
Vladimir Tatlin
Monument to the 3rd International
1919-20wood, iron and glass
Productivism – developed in RussiaAimed to design better environments for human beings- Utopian thinking, using technology to
benefit humans - abandoned abstraction for “functional
art”Commissioned to honor the Russian Revolution – GOVERNMENTAL BUILDING- Glass and iron building, taller than Eiffel TowerSpiral cage with geometric rotating forms in center for various gov’t activities
• Chambers decrease in size as the building ascends
• Reinforces social and political reality
Never was actually built, only exists in models
Gerrit Thomas Rietveld
Schroder House
Utrecht, the Netherlands
1924
• De Stijl Architecture – inspiration by Mondrian (straight lines, primary colors, primary values, geometric shapes)
• Living rooms on 2nd floor, private rooms on ground level • Sliding screens to transform the space • Shifting quality appears in exterior, almost Cubist, moveable panels
Rietveld’s philosophy: homes should be “machines for living”
Schroder House, interior
Walter Gropius
Bauhaus
Dessau, Germany
1925-26
• The organic shaping of things in accordance with their own current laws, avoids embellishment and whimsy
• Restriction of basic forms and colors: emphasis on typical and universally legible themes
• Simplicity in complexity• Economy in the use of space, materials, time and money
Walter Gropius
Bauhaus
Dessau, Germany
1925-26
Bauhaus: German school of design • Dismantled by Nazi Regime• Hitler quickly shut down the institution after 14 years• Students and professors fled Germany and disseminated Bauhaus aesthetics and ideals • Inspired curricula for many other art schools
Luwig Mies Van Der Rohe
model for a glass skyscraper,
Berlin, Germany1922
• Took over Bauhaus after Gropius left • “less is more” “skin and bones”
architecture • Model for tall glass building (never built)• Three towers, reveals cantilevered interior • Illusion of movement inspired later
architects, especially for skyscrapers
Cantilever = A long projecting beam or girder fixed at only one end
Le Corbusier (Charles Edouard Jeanneret)
Villa Savoye
Poissy-sur-Seine, France1929-30
• Designed functional living spaces, “machines for living”
• Sun, space, vegetation, controlled temp, quiet, insulated
Le Corbusier
Villa Savoye
Poissy-sur-Seine, France1929-30
• Located outside Paris• Living rooms on second floor, bedroom,
storage, garage on first • Open space, strip windows • Ramp leads to roof-terrace and garden
• No traditional façade, must walk around and through house to understand it
Le Corbusier
Villa Savoye
Poissy-sur-Seine, France1929-30
• INVERTED typical design practice • Heavier floor on TOP, negates
solidity • Made possible with ferroconcrete
(steel enforced concrete)
William van Allen
Chrysler Building
New York, New York1928-30
ART DECO• In response to Bauhaus• Favored ornamentation using new materials • Appealed to all art forms: buildings, furniture,
silverware, etc.• Very streamlines, geometric, organic, “aerodynamic”
Chrysler Building Monument of the fabulous 1920sCelebrated the principles and success of American
business…pre-Depression
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
• “architecture of democracy”
• Natural, organic, interacts with natural surrounding
• Free open space for free individuals to move through
• Asymmetry • Use of innovative building
techniques: cantilevers
Frank Lloyd Wright
Robie House
Chicago, Illinois1907-09
• “Prairie style” – long, sweeping, ground-hugging lines reflects expansiveness of Midwest flatlands
• No façade• Extended roof overhangs, conceal entrance, “wandering” plan• Sense of space and motion• The interior’s flowing space dictated the placement of external
walls
• Grouped around giant central fireplace
• Every little decorative detail fits in with Wright’s design scheme
Robie House, interior
Frank Lloyd Wright
Robie House
Chicago, Illinois1907-09
Long, “prairie style” design
Frank Lloyd Wright
Kaufmann House (Fallingwater)
Bear Run, Pennsylvania1936-39
• Built as country home of dept store magnate Edgar Kaufmann
• Fluid interplay of interior and exterior• Placed on top of waterfall, hence fallingwater • Incorporates building INTO site• Series of terraces
• Concrete, painted metal and natural stone
• SPACE, not mass. Created space for free movement
• GREATLY influential on European architects