theories of arch

8/8/2019 Theories of Arch..

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1. Modernism

Picture Dictionary of Modern Architecture: ModernismThe Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University is a Modernist building by I.M. Pei.

Photo Jackie CravenView Full-Size

I.M. Pei, Architect - Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University

Modernist architecture emphasizes function. It attempts to provide for specific needs rather thanimitate nature. The roots of Modernism may be found in the work of Berthold Luberkin (1901-1990), a Russian architect who settled in London and founded a group called Tecton. The Tectonarchitects believed in applying scientific, analytical methods to design. Their stark buildings rancounter to expectations and often seemed to defy gravity.

Modernist architecture can express a number of stylistic ideas, including:

Structuralism

Formalism

Bauhaus

The International Style

Brutalism

Minimalism
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Modernist architecture has these features:

Little or no ornamentation

Factory-made parts

Man-made materials such as metal and concrete

Emphasis on function

Rebellion against traditional styles

For examples of Modernism in architecture, see works by:

Rem Koolhaas

I.M. Pei

Le Corbusier

Philip Johnson

Mies van der Rohe

In the later decades of the twentieth century, designers rebelled against the rational Modernismand a variety of post modern styles evolved. Examples of post modern architecture include:

Postmodernism

High Tech

Organic

Deconstructivism
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2. Expressionism and Neo-expressionism

Picture Dictionary of Modern Architecture: Expressionism and Neo-expressionismBuilt in 1920, the Einstein Tower (Einsteinturm) in Potsdam is an Expressionist work by architectErich Mendelsohn.

Photo: Creative Commons by Doris AntonyView Full-Size

The Einstein Tower (Einsteinturm) in Potsdam is an Expressionist work by architect ErichMendelsohn, 1920

Expressionism evolved from the work of avant garde artists and designers in Germany and otherEuropean coutries during the first decades of the twentieth century. Key features ofExpressionism are:

distorted shapes fragmented lines

organic or biomorphic forms

massive sculpted shapes

extensive use of concrete and brick

lack of symmetry

many fanciful works rendered on paper but never built
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Neo-expressionism built upon expressionist ideas. Architects in the 1950s and 1960s designedbuildings that expressed their feelings about the surrounding landscape. Sculptural formssuggested rocks and mountains. Organic and Brutalist architecture can often be described asNeo-expressionist.

Expressionist and Neo-expressionist Architects

Gunther Domenig

Hans Scharoun

Rudolf Steiner

Bruno Taut

Erich Mendelsohn

Walter Gropius (early works)

Eero Saarinen
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3. Structuralism

Picture Dictionary of Modern Architecture: StructuralismThe Berlin Holocaust Memorial is a controversial Structuralist work by architect Peter Eisenman.

Photo (cc) cactusbones/Flickr.comView Full-Size

Berlin Holocaust Memorial by Peter Eisenman

Structuralism is based on the idea that all things are built from a system of signs and these signs

are made up of opposites: male/female, hot/cold, old/young, etc. For Structuralists, design is aprocess of searching for the relationship between elements. Structuralists are also interested inthe social structures and mental processes that contributed to the design.

Structuralist architecture will have a great deal of complexity within a highly structured framework.For example, a Structuralist design may consist of cell-like honeycomb shapes, intersectingplanes, cubed grids, or densely clustered spaces with connecting courtyards.

Architect Peter Eisenman often brings a Structuralist approach to his works.
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4. Formalism

Picture Dictionary of Modern Architecture: FormalismArchitect I.M. Pei has been praised for the "elegant formalism" of his Bank of China Tower inHong Kong.

Photo courtesy the Pritzker Prize CommitteeThe Bank of China Tower, 1990, by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Ieoh Ming Pei

As the name suggests, Formalism emphasizes form. The architect is interested in visualrelationships between the building parts and the work as a whole. Shape, often on a monumentalscale, is the focus of attention. Lines and rigid geometric shapes predominate in Formalistarchitecture.

You will find Formalism in many Modernist buildings, especially in Bauhaus and InternationalStyle architecture. ArchitectI.M. Peihas often been praised for the "elegant formalism" of hisworks.

Learn more about the Bank of China Tower>>
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5. High-tech

Picture Dictionary of Modern Architecture: High-techThe Centre Pompidou in Paris is a High-tech building by Richard Rogers, Renzo Piano, andGianfranco Franchini.

Photo by Katsuhisa Kida, Courtesy Richard Rogers PartnershipView Full-Size

Centre Pompidou in France by by Richard Rogers, Renzo Piano, and Gianfranco Franchini.

High-tech buildings are often called machine-like. Steel, aluminium, and glass combine withbrightly colored braces, girders, and beams. Many of the building parts are prefabricated in afactory and assembled later. The support beams, duct work, and other functional elements areplaced on the exterior of the building, where they become the focus of attention. The interiorspaces are open and adaptable for many uses.

The High-tech Centre Pompidou in Paris appears to be turned inside out, revealing its innerworkings on the exterior facade.

High-tech Architects:

Richard Rogers

Norman Foster

See more images of Centre George Pompidou:

Close-up view

Competition Drawing

Competition Drawing
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6. Bauhaus

Picture Dictionary of Modern Architecture: BauhausArchitect Walter Gropius used Bauhaus ideas when he built his monochrome home in Lincoln,Massachusetts.

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The Bauhaus Gropius House in Lincoln, Massachusetts

Bauhaus is a German expression meaning house for building. In 1919, the economy in Germanywas collapsing after a crushing war. Architect Walter Gropius was appointed to head a newinstitution that would help rebuild the country and form a new social order. Called the Bauhaus,the Institution called for a new "rational" social housing for the workers. Bauhaus architectsrejected "bourgeois" details such as cornices, eaves, and decorative details. They wanted to useprinciples of Classical architecture in their most pure form: without ornamentation of any kind.

Bauhaus buildings have flat roofs, smooth facades, and cubic shapes. Colors are white, gray,beige, or black. Floor plans are open and furniture is functional.
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The Bauhaus school disbanded when the Nazis rose to power. Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies vander Rohe, and other Bauhaus leaders migrated to the United States. The term International Stylewas applied to the American form of Bauhaus architecture.

See examples of Bauhaus and the International Style:

The Seagram Building The Gropius House

The Farnsworth House

Philip Johnson's Glass House

The Transco Building by Philip Johnson

United Nations Headquarters by Le Corbusier

Anna Stern House by Richard Neutra

The Lovell House by Richard Neutra

The Bauhaus Building in Dessau, Germany

Furniture by Bauhaus Architects

Bauhaus Architects

Le Corbusier

Richard Neutra

Philip Johnson

Mies van der Rohe

More Information:

The International Style

The Art Moderne House Style

Bauhaus Chronology
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7. International Style

Picture Dictionary of Modern Architecture: International StyleLe Corbusier's United Nations Secretariat building in New York is a famous example of theInternational Style.

Gallery Index


Photo: ArtToday.comLe Corbusier's United Nations Secretariat building over-looks the New York City skyline along

the East River.

International Style is a term often used to describe Bauhausarchitecture in the United States.The name came from the book The International Style by historian and critic Henry-RussellHitchcock and architect Philip Johnson. The book was published in 1932 in conjunction with anexhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The term is again used in a later book,International Architecture, by Walter Gropius.

While German Bauhaus architecture had been concerned with the social aspects of design,

America's International Style became a symbolism of Capitalism: The International Style is thefavored architecture for office buildings, and is also found in upscale homes built for the rich. Oneof the most famous examples of the International Style is Le Corbusier's United NationsSecretariat building. The smooth glass slab dominates New York's skyline along the East River.

See examples of Bauhaus and the International Style:

The Seagram Building

The Gropius House

The Farnsworth House

Philip Johnson's Glass House

The Transco Building by Philip Johnson

United Nations Headquarters by Le Corbusier

Anna Stern House by Richard Neutra

The Lovell House by Richard Neutra

The Bauhaus Building in Dessau, Germany

Furniture by Bauhaus Architects

Bauhaus Architects

Le Corbusier
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Richard Neutra

Philip Johnson

Mies van der Rohe

More Information:

The Bauhaus Style

The Art Moderne House Style

Bauhaus Chronology
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8. Brutalism

Picture Dictionary of Modern Architecture: BrutalismBrutalism was a guiding principle for Paulo Mendes da Rocha, who designed stark, economicalconcrete buildings in Brazil.

Gallery Index

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The Paulo Mendes da Rocha Residence in So Paulo, Brazil by Paulo Mendes da Rocha, 2006

Pritzker Architecture Prize LaureateThe term Brutalism was first used in the early 1950s to describe the simple concrete buildingsdesigned by Le Corbusier. Stark and angular, Brutalism grew out of theInternational Style, butthe designs may strike you as less refined. Brutalist buildings can be constructed quickly andeconomically.

Brutalist architecture has these features:

Precast concrete slabs

Rough, unfinished surfaces

Exposed steel beams

Massive, sculptural shapes

The Prizker Prize-winning architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha is often called a "Brazilian Brutalist"because his buildings are constructed of prefabricated and mass-produced concrete components.Shown here is his home in So Paulo, Brazil.
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9. Minimalism

Picture Dictionary of Modern Architecture: MinimalismThe Minimalist home of Mexican architect Luis Barragn is reduced to dramatically lit lines andplanes.

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Photo by Salas Portugal, courtesy of the Pritzker Prize CommitteeThe Minimalist Luis Barragan House, or Casa de Luis Barragn, was the home and studio of

Mexican architect Luis Barragn. This building is a classic example of the Pritzker PrizeLaureate's use of texture, bright colors, and diffused light.

One important trend in Modernist architecture is the movement toward minimalistorreductivistdesign. Hallmarks of Minimalism include:

Buildings are stripped of all but the most essential elements

Emphasis is placed on the outline, or frame, of the struture

Interior walls are eliminated

Floor plans are open

Lighting is used to dramatize lines and planes

The negative spaces around the structure are part of the overall design

Modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe paved the way for Minimalism when he said, "Lessis more." Minimalist architects drew much of their inspiration from the elegant simplicity oftraditional Japanese architecture. Minimalists were also inspired by a movement of earlytwentieth century Dutch artists known as De Stijl. Valuing simplicity and abstraction, De Stijlartists used only straight lines and rectangular shapes.

The Mexico City home of the Pritzker Prize-winning architect Luis Barragn is Minimalist in itsemphasis on lines, planes, and open spaces.

Architects known for Minimalist designs include:

Tadao Ando

Luis Barragan

Yoshio Taniguchi

Richard Gluckman
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10. Deconstructivism

Picture Dictionary of Modern Architecture: DeconstructivismThe Seattle Public Library by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas is an example of Deconstructivistarchitecture.

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Photo 2005 Niko Vujevic / iStockphoto

View Full-SizeThe new main central branch of the Seattle Public Library was designed by the Dutch architect

Rem Koolhaas and opened in 2004.

Deconstructivism, or Deconstruction, is an approach to building design that attempts to viewarchitecture in bits and pieces. The basic elements of architecture are dismantled.Deconstructivist buildings may seem to have no visual logic. They may appear to be made up ofunrelated, disharmonious abstract forms. Deconstructive ideas are borrowed from the Frenchphilosopher Jacques Derrida.

For examples of Deconstructivism in architecture, look at works by:

Peter Eisenman

Frank Gehry

Richard Meier Rem Koolhaas
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11. Organic Architecture

Picture Dictionary of Modern Architecture: OrganicDesigned by Jorn Utzon, the Sydney Opera House in Australia is an example of Organicarchitecture.

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Photo by David Messent, courtesy of Jrn Utzon/Utzon Architects and the Pritzker Prize CommitteeThe Sydney Opera House, designed by Jrn Utzon, winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in

2003Frank Lloyd Wright said that all architecture is organic, and the Art Nouveau architects of theearly twentieth century incorporated curving, plant-like shapes into their designs. But in the laterhalf of the twentieth century, Modernist architects took the concept of organic architecture to newheights. By using new forms of concrete and cantilever trusses, architects could create swoopingarches without visible beams or pillars.

Organic buildings are never linear or rigidly geometric. Instead, wavy lines and curved shapessuggest natural forms.

Examples of Organic Modernism:

Frank Lloyd Wright used shell-like spiral forms when he designed the Solomon R.Guggenheim Museumin New York City

Artist and architectural designer used ocean motifs when he designed Sea Ranch Chapelin Gualala, California

Architect Eero Saarinen is known for designing grand bird-like buildings such as the TWAterminal at New York's Kennedy Airport and Dulles Airport near Washington D.C.

Architect Jorn Utzon borrowed shell-like forms for the Sydney Opera Housein Australia.

Learn more about Organic Architecture >>
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12. Postmodernism

Picture Dictionary of Modern Architecture: PostmodernismPhilip Johnson's At&T Headquarters (now the SONY Building) is often cited as an example ofPostmodernism.

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Photo by Dan McKay, Flickr Creative CommonsView Full-Size

Philip Johnson's At&T Headquarters (now the SONY Building) is often cited as an example ofpostmodernism.

Postmodern architecture evolved from themodernist movement, yet contradicts many of themodernist ideas. Combining new ideas with traditional forms, postmodernist buildings may startle,surprise, and even amuse. Familiar shapes and details are used in unexpected ways. Buildings

may incorporate symbols to make a statement or simply to delight the viewer.

Philip Johnson's At&T Headquarters is often cited as an example of postmodernism. Like manybuildings in the International Style, the skyscraper has a sleek, classical facade. At the top,however, is an oversized "Chippendale" pediment.

The key ideas of Postmodernism are set forth in two important books by Robert Venturi:Complexity and Contradiction in Architectureand Learning from Las Vegas.
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Postmodern Architects:

Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown

Michael Graves

Philip Johnson

Further Reading:

Complexity and Contradiction in ArchitectureIn this groundbreaking book, published in 1966, Robert Venturi challenged modernism andcelebrated the mix of historic styles in great cities such as Rome. (Compare Prices)

Learning from Las VegasSubtitled "The Forgotten Symbolism of Architectural Form," this postmodernist classic called the"vulgar billboards" of the Vegas Strip emblems for a new architecture. Published in 1972, thebook was written by Robert Venturi, Steven Izenour, and Denise Scott Brown. (Compare Prices)

Also See:

Disney Architects

The Postmodern Style House
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