18th -20th century architecture
TRANSCRIPT
18TH -20TH CENTURY ARCHITECTURE
AR266B
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE
JACOB ENRIQUE C. FLORES
Arch. ED WARDO B LLEDO
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
ARCHITECTURE OF THE 18TH – 19TH CENTURY
ARCHITECTURE OF THE 20TH CENTURY
ARCHITECTUREL STYLES
18 T H – 19 T H CENTURY ARCHITECTURE
Palladianism and the English stately home: 18th century
Britain in the early 18th century is the scene of a strong reaction against the self-indulgence of
baroque architecture, replacing it with the clear-cut classical lines of Palladio. The style of the great
Venetian architect is known in England only from his four books of designs (the Quattro Libri) and
from the London masterpieces of an enthusiast returning from Italy, Inigo Jones. These are the
Banqueting House in Whitehall (1622) and the Queen's House in Greenwich (1629-40).
Inigo Jones's pioneering work in the Palladian style remains very little imitated for the rest of the 17th
century, a period dominated by baroque.
Baroque still prevails in the early 18th century as the preferred style for any grandee planning a
magnificent country seat. The most obvious examples are two buildings designed by Vanbrugh and
Hawksmoor in partnership - Castle Howard for the earl of Carlisle in 1700-26, Blenheim Palace for
the duke of Marlborough in 1705-22.
But while Castle Howard and Blenheim are under construction, the prevailing fashion changes. A
collection of classical designs in the Palladian style is published in 1715, under the title Vitruvius
Britannicus, by a British architect, Colen Campbell.
Vitruvius Britannicus launches a new fashion in 18th-century England. In 1717 the earl of Burlington
employs Campbell to remodel his London house in Piccadilly in the Palladian style. In 1722 Robert
Walpole commissions him to build Houghton Hall, a large Palladian country house in Norfolk.
Neoclassicism: 18th - 19th century AD
Ever since the Renaissance, successive generations of artists and
architects have turned to classical models for inspiration. Even at
the height of baroque (the least classical of styles in mood or line)
contemporary grandees are often depicted in togas. Military heroes,
however foolish they may look, strutt in the stiff ribbed kilt of the
Roman legionary.
During the 18th century a quest for classical authenticity is
undertaken with new academic vigour. There are several reasons.
Archaeological sites such as Pompeii are being excavated. And
interest is shifting from the Roman part of the classical heritage to
the Greek.
Baroque still prevails in the early 18th century as the preferred
style for any grandee planning a magnificent country seat. The
most obvious examples are two buildings designed by Vanbrugh
and Hawksmoor in partnership - Castle Howard for the earl of
Carlisle in 1700-26, Blenheim Palace for the duke of Marlborough
in 1705-22.
But while Castle Howard and Blenheim are under construction,
the prevailing fashion changes. A collection of classical designs in
the Palladian style is published in 1715, under the title Vitruvius
Britannicus, by a British architect, Colen Campbell.
Vitruvius Britannicus launches a new fashion in 18th-century
England. In 1717 the earl of Burlington employs Campbell to
remodel his London house in Piccadilly in the Palladian style. In
1722 Robert Walpole commissions him to build Houghton Hall, a
large Palladian country house in Norfolk.
In architecture there has already been a strong classical revival early in the
century, particularly in the Palladian movement in Britain. Robert Adam,
returning from Rome in 1757 with a multitude of classical themes and
motifs in his head, creates an eclectic style very much his own - in which
classical severity and rococo fancy are subtly blended to satisfy his
customers.
By the turn of the century these pleasant fancies seem too frivolous. A
more rigorously Greek style becomes the architectural fashion in many
parts of Europe.
A version of the Parthenon rises from 1806 in Paris, on Napoleon's orders,
to become eventually the church of La Madeleine. Another Parthenon
begins to be built on Calton Hill in Edinburgh in 1822 as a memorial to the
Scots who have died in the Napoleonic wars (it remains uncompleted). The
design chosen for the new British Museum, on which work begins in 1823,
is a Parthenon with extensions.
So the 19th century acquires, through neoclassicism and the Greek
Revival, a conventional style of considerable vigour. Architects of
important new buildings, whether churches, parliaments or banks, will now
consider a sprinkling of Greek columns as one serious option. The other,
resulting from another 18th-century revival, is to go Gothic.
Gothic Revival: 18th - 19th century AD
The Gothic Revival begins at the same time as the first stirrings of neoclassicism, in the mid-18th century. Though entirely different in their results, the two movements share a similar impulse. After a century and a half of baroque each looks nostalgically to the past for a purer source of inspiration.However the Gothic revivalists do so at first in a more frivolous mood than the earnest archaelogical advocates of neoclassicism. Indeed the most famous early example of the Gothic Revival, Horace Walpole's Strawberry Hill (begun in 1750), can also be seen as a branch of rococo - an attempt by a fashionable host to find a new decorative theme to amuse his visitors. A growing interest in the mysterious Middle Ages, as an antidote to the dry certainties of rationalism and the Enlightenment, is reflected also in the literary field in the first stirrings of the Romantic movement. In 1762, while the fan-vaulted gallery is being built in Strawberry Hill, the literary world is bowled over with enthusiasm for a newly discovered medieval Celtic poem, Ossian's Fingal (a fake, as it turns out).Horace Walpole is a significant figure in both these aspects of the Gothic Revival. Strawberry Hill is complete by 1776. Walpole's Castle of Otranto, an early prototype of the Gothic novel as a spine-tingling tale of medieval villainies and wronged innocence, is published in 1764. The light-hearted approach to the Gothic Revival survives into the early 19th century. Then, as with neoclassicism and in keeping with the times, a greater solemnity sets in. Gothic becomes one of the main 19th-century styles for public buildings (town halls and law courts as well as churches).
In competition with the Greek Revival, the Gothic style has economy on its side. The stone lintels required to span a large opening in a Greek temple are expensive. It is soon realized by cost-conscious architects that pointed Gothic arches can be built in brick and cheaply clad in stone. More than 2500 Anglican churches are built in England and Wales between 1821 and 1850, and nearly all of them are Gothic.
The eclectic century: 19th century AD
The 19th-century fascination in Europe with the architecture of the past begins with Greek temples and Gothic cathedrals, but soon extends to encompass a bewildering range of other historical styles - Egyptian, Byzantine, Romanesque, Venetian Gothic, Muslim Indian, and even, in a final convolution, the many Renaissance styles which are themselves a response to earlier periods.
This most self-confident of centuries takes what it likes from these many sources, mixes and matches them, develops and distorts them to create magnificent buildings. The effect is of its time, but the ingredients are not. Only one feature of 19th-century architecture is entirely new in the west - the use of cast iron.
Glass, iron and prefabrication: AD 1837-1851The public first becomes aware of the glorious potential of cast-iron architecture in the 1840s, when extraordinary conservatories are erected at Chatsworth and in Kew Gardens. But the technology derives from factory construction in the 1790s.With Boulton and Watt's steam machinery in operation, conventional factories using timber for joists and floors are prone to disastrous fires. The occasional use of cast iron for structural purposes goes back many centuries in China, for temple pagodas, but it is an innovation in Britain when William Strutt builds the first fireproof mill at Derby, in 1792-3, with floors on shallow brick arches supported on cast-iron pillars. Strutt's mill still contains some massive wooden beams, but an entirely wood-free factory is constructed at Ditherington, near Shrewsbury, in 1796-7. Arched brick floors, on cast-iron beams and pillars, become the standard factory and warehouse interior of the 19th century.The next and most glamorous stage in cast-iron architecture is linked above all with the name of Joseph Paxton. As superintendent of the duke of Devonshire's gardens at Chatsworth, he builds there in 1837-40 a great conservatory, shaped like a tent (277 feet long and 67 feet high) but consisting entirely of cast iron and glass.
Georgian architecture was the style of
the 18th century, especially from the
reign of King George I who ascended
the throne in 1711, until the American
Revolution (King George III). Building
during this period closely adheres to
English precedents, which were made
accessible through printed books on
architecture. The Georgian style was
relatively homogeneous from Maine
through the southern states
Federalist Architecture
Especially common in
New England; a
traditionalist approach to
classicism, heavily
influenced by English
models. Charles Bulfinch,
Samuel MacIntyre.
State House, Boston
18TH CENTURRYRococo, Neoclassicism and Romanticism are three influential
movements from the eighteenth century, a pluralistic century of
"movements" rather than of period styles (in that respect, much like our
own times). These movements are not sequential developments, but
constantly overlapping reactions and counteractions. The Rococo style:
The art of the first half of the eighteenth century represents, in some
respects, a continuation of the High Baroque style. It matters little
whether Neumann, for example, was a Rococo or Late Baroque architect.
Italy, Southern Germany, and France remained tied to the Baroque
tradition in its last manifestation, the Rococo, in which the interaction of
space and form in movement remained a basic element of design.
The French architect Germain Boffrand (1667-1754) was one of the most
distinguished designers in Paris of private palaces and town houses (hotels)
for the aristocracy. In his designs for both exteriors and interiors, an
impression of elegance and refinement is given by the use of smooth, light-
colored surfaces, occasionally curved, and extensive areas of glass
(windows and mirrors). Exterior decoration comprises restrained patterns
of horizontal grooves, variations in the curved crowns of window openings,
and occasional accents of sculpture in low relief. On the interior, mirrors,
wall panelling, and window openings are united by rocaille ornament: a
free, curvilinear two- dimensional pattern of crisp stucco plant and shell
forms, in arabesques and cartouches, open and lively in contour and
occasionally asymmetrical. Furniture and painted panels pick up the
rhythms of this architectural ornament. Such Rococo decoration was
particularly popular in Germany, as represented here by Amalienburg.
Neoclassicism. Eighteenth-century archeological studies combined with a reaction
in taste against the decorative Rococo style, and a desire to revive certain of the
historical connotations of the ancient world (such as the heroic virtues of the Roman
Republic) produced a Neo- Classical revival in the second half of the eighteenth
century in Europe and the United States--although the brilliant villa at Chiswick was
much earlier. Classicizing works of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
(especially those of Palladio) often served as models. In general, earlier Neo-
Classicism uses Roman models and emphasizes their republican associations. The
Greek Doric order is revived, and we speak specifically of the Greek Revival style.
Thomas Jefferson (American, 1743-1826), an architect as well as a statesman and a
scholar, was well read in the classicist theories of architecture and acquainted with
the famous models of European classicism. His desire to establish a sense of cultural
tradition in this new country is reflected in his architecture. For his own country
house (Monticello), he modified a Palladio design to meet local practical needs, and
"translated" it into local materials. He was one of the first architects to adapt Roman
building types to the functional requirements of public and academic buildings.
Romanticism. Neo-Classicism was one aspect of the wider Romantic
movement (c. 1750-1850), which began, primarily in England and Germany, as
an urge towards simple, sincere feeling and natural behavior as opposed to
court etiquette. All historical styles were thought to be natural and desirable as
antidotes to the unpleasant reality of Rococo artificiality and the industrial
revolution. The word "romantic" was applied to whatever might call forth
"sublime" associations: ruins and other reminders of past grandeur and of the
melancholy passage of time; manifestations of the forces of nature and man's
impotence before them; and expressions of extreme emotion, reflecting the
uncontrolled forces in man's nature, from passion to insanity. The Gothic style--
used by Horace Walpole at Strawberry Hill--was considered one to bring out
these associations; but there are buildings reflecting the exotic styles of China,
Egypt, and, in the nineteenth century, North Africa. Although the outward
forms of the revival styles are copied, sometimes fancifully, sometimes exactly,
the content is never that of the original style, but always "romantic".
A century of Architecture
Federal ~~ 1800-1825
Greek revival ~~ 1826-
Gothic Revival ~~ 1830's
Italianate ~~ mid 1800's-1885 French Second
Empire ~~ 1851-1870 Stick Style ~~ 1858 Queen
Anne ~~ 1858-1900's
The foundations for the Victorian House were first laid in Great Britain before
Queen Victoria took the throne in 1837. Domestic Architecture had become the
expression of Victorian Britain's structure. Now the Victorian House not only
reflected the social standing of it's occupant but the position he wished to attain.
By the early 19th century the Neo-classical, Greek and Roman styles that were
inherited from the 18th century were already losing popularity. Queen Victoria
admired Italian Renaissance style and chose that style for her Osborn House.
By the middle of the 19th century most country house aspirants favored such
styles as English Gothic and Elizabethan. Other styles were Old English, French,
Italian, Medieval, Belgian and German.
American's were enamored with Greek Revival structures and homes because of
it's associations with democracy. Most public buildings had pediments, columned
porticoes and friezes.
Quickly the Gothic Revival became popular, a design from England. Among the many of
the Gothic Style architects of that day were Alexander Jackson Davis and Andrew Jackson
Downing. Many Gothic houses featured diamond-paned bay windows, tall thin chimneys,
scroll-sawn trim, now what has coined the term "gingerbread house". Downies houses
were distinguished by steep roof slopes, balconies, porches, and gabled windows.
From the mid 1800's - 1885 the Italianate, inspired by the Renassaince structures,
flourished. It's characteristics were marked by a square cupola, tower surmounting a low
pitched roof, wide eaves, decorative and intricate carved brackets below, tall narrow
windows with U shaped hood molds. These home were generally squared or rectangular.
French Second Empire is known for its steeped mansard roof, sometimes with concave
curved planes. This decorative style featured elaborate door and window surrounds, iron
casting above bracketed eaves along the roofline, one or two story porches with
balustrades above or below. This style became so popular after the Civil War that it
became known as the General Grant style, in America.
The Queen Anne Revival was the epitome of the eclectic
Victorian styles. Many of the assymetrical Queen Annes were
built in the Shingle style, which was popular in Resort
structures. These houses featured deeply recessed arched
entryways, shingled or stonework piers for porch supports,
high pitched multi-level roofs, towers, and much ornamental
spoolwork.
This is but a few of the styles that were popular. There were
other revivals throughout America as well. But the ones listed
were the most popular and left the grandest impression on
what Victorian Architecture really was all about
20T H CENTURY ARCHITECTURE
Modern architecture is characterized by simplification of form
and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the
building. The first variants were conceived early in the 20th
century. Modern architecture was adopted by many influential
architects and architectural educators, however very few "Modern
buildings" were built in the first half of the century. It gained
popularity after the Second World War and became the dominant
architectural style for institutional and corporate buildings for
three decades, covering practically most of the Cold War era.
ORIGINS
Some historians see the evolution of Modern architecture as a social matter, closely tied to the
project of Modernity and thus the Enlightenment. The Modern style developed, in their opinion,
as a result of social and political revolutionsOthers see Modern architecture as primarily driven
by technological and engineering developments, and it is true that the availability of new
building materials such as iron, steel, and glass drove the invention of new building techniques
as part of the Industrial Revolution. In 1796, Shrewsbury mill owner Charles Bage first used his
'fireproof' design, which relied on cast iron and brick with flag stone floors. Such construction
greatly strengthened the structure of mills, which enabled them to accommodate much bigger
machines. Due to poor knowledge of iron's properties as a construction material, a number of
early mills collapsed. It was not until the early 1830s that Eaton Hodgkinson introduced the
section beam, leading to widespread use of iron construction, this kind of austere
industrial architecture utterly transformed the landscape of northern Britain, leading to the
description of places like Manchester and parts of West Yorkshire as "Dark satanic mills"
Other historians regard Modernism
as a matter of taste, a reaction
against eclecticism and the lavish
stylistic excesses of Victorian Era
and Edwardian Art Nouveau. Note
that the Russian word for Art
Nouveau, "Модерн", and the
Spanish word for Art Nouveau,
"Modernismo" are cognates of the
English word "Modern" though they
carry different meanings.
Melnikov House near
Arbat Street in Moscow
by Konstantin Melnikov.
Whatever the cause, around 1900 a
number of architects around the world
began developing new architectural
solutions to integrate traditional
precedents (Gothic, for instance) with new
technological possibilities. The work of
Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright in
Chicago, Victor Horta in Brussels, Antoni
Gaudi in Barcelona, Otto Wagner in
Vienna and Charles Rennie Mackintosh in
Glasgow, among many others, can be seen
as a common struggle between old and
new. An early use of the term in print
around this time, approaching its later
meaning, was in the title of a book by
Otto Wagner
The Seagram Building, New
York City, 1958. One of the finest
examples of the functionalist
aesthetic and a masterpiece of
corporate modernism.
Modernist architecture has been more widely
accepted as an appropriate residential style in
Europe, where the populace is generally more
exposed to culture and art than much of the
world. This level of education imparts a tendency
to accept new ideas while preserving their rich
heritage, which is evidenced in the mix of new
and old architecture, both intentional and
unintentional, that one sees in many major
European cities today[8]. Also, one could argue
that the numerous modern institutional and
commercial buildings that permeate European
countries have adjusted their denizens to this
type of design; Frank Gehry's
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, for example, has
been one of the best received modern pieces in
history with over ten million visitors since its
opening in 1997[9].
Therme Vals, a hotel / spa complex
in Vals, Switzerland, designed by
Peter Zumthor. It characterizes the
European practice of exploring the
juxtaposition of modern
architecture, nature, and
centuries-old traditional designs.
ARCHITECTURAL STYLES
often Romanticism An artistic and intellectual
movement originating in Europe in the late 18th
century and characterized by a heightened interest
in nature, emphasis on the individual's expression of
emotion and imagination, departure from the
attitudes and forms of classicism, and rebellion
against established social rules and conventions.
Romantic quality or spirit in thought, expression,
or action.
ROMANTICISM
Late-C18 and early C19 artistic forward, including the beak-head, billet, movement, its many variations and strands cable,
chevron, double cone, nebule, and defying any neat definition. The one character-reversed zig-zag. istic found throughout its
sundry manifestations was the insistence on individual experience, intuition, instinct, and emotion. Commonly perceived as a
reaction against the rationalism of the Enlightenment, Classicism, and Neo-Classicism, it nevertheless shared with
Classicism reverence for the ideal, transcending reality, hence the term Romantic Classicism applied to works displaying a
Romantic response to the Antique. A perfect Ancient Greek temple in its pristine state would be Classical, but a ruined
Greek temple, though Classical in one sense, cannot be Classical in another because it is broken, incomplete, partial, and in
ruins. Such a ruin might, however, be perceived as beautiful, and so a Classical building constructed as a ‘ruin’ in an C18
garden could be described as an example of Romantic Classicism. Asymmetrical compositions set in the context of the
Picturesque often are purely Classical in detail, such as Schinkel's exquisite buildings at Potsdam (Charlottenhof and the
Roman Baths complex), and so can be classed as examples of Romantic Classicism.
Form, in Romantic art, was determined by the inner idea within the subject represented, and the yearning for spirituality
and inner meaning allied Romanticism with medievalism, Historicism, the Picturesque, the Gothic Revival, and the Sublime.
A new tenderness towards the dead, a love of melancholy, and the cultivation of feelings were characteristics of
Romanticism, creating elegiac gardens, the first cemeteries, and fuelling the religious revival that was such an important
part of C19 European and American culture.
Arts House (Muveszetek Haza), Szekszard
The Romantic-style synagogue built in the 1890's
was designed by Hans Petschnigg, a teacher at the
technical university in Graz. József Kerényi lead out
in the reconstruction of the building which is today
the Arts House
NEOCLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced
by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century,
manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo
style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as
an outgrowth of some classicizing features of Late Baroque. In its
purest form it is a style principally derived from the architecture
of Classical Greece and the architecture of Italian Andrea Palladio.
In form, Neoclassical architecture emphasizes the wall rather than
chiaroscuro and maintains separate identities to each of its parts.
The
Cathedral of Vilnius
(1783), by Laurynas
Gucevičius
Pulteney Bridge, Bath,
England, by
Robert AdamThe Shanghai International Convention Centre, a prominent example of Soviet neoclassical architecture in the People's Republic of China
NEOCLASSICAL
High neoclassicism was an international movement. Though neoclassical architecture employs the
same classical vocabulary as Late Baroque architecture, it tends to emphasize its planar qualities,
rather than sculptural volumes. Projections and recessions and their effects of light and shade are
flatter; sculptural bas-reliefs are flatter and tend to be enframed in friezes, tablets or panels. Its
clearly articulated individual features are isolated rather than interpenetrating, autonomous and
complete in themselves.
International neoclassical architecture was exemplified in Karl Friedrich Schinkel's buildings,
especially the Old Museum in Berlin, Sir John Soane's Bank of England in London and the newly built
White House and Capitol in Washington, DC in the United States. The Scots architect
Charles Cameron created palatial Italianate interiors for the German-born Catherine II the Great in
St. Petersburg.
Italy clung to Rococo until the Napoleonic regimes brought the new archaeological classicism, which
was embraced as a political statement by young, progressive, urban Italians with republican leanings.
EXPRESSIONIST ARCHITECTURE
Characteristics
Expressionist architecture was individualistic and in many ways eschewed aesthetic dogma,[7] but it is still useful to
develop some criteria which defines it. Though containing a great variety and differentiation, many points can be
found as recurring in works of Expressionist architecture, and are evident in some degree in each of its works.
Distortion of form for an emotional effect.
Subordination of realism to symbolic or stylistic expression of inner experience.
An underlying effort at achieving the new, original, and visionary.
Profusion of works on paper, and models, with discovery and representations of concepts more important than
pragmatic finished products.
Often hybrid solutions, irreducible to a single concept.
Themes of natural romantic phenomena, such as caves, mountains, lightning, crystal and rock formations.[ As such it
is more mineral and elemental than florid and organic which characterized its close contemporary art nouveau.
Utilises creative potential of artisan craftsmanship.
Tendency more towards the gothic than the classical. Expressionist architecture also tends more towards the
romanesque and the rococo than the classical.
Though a movement in Europe, expressionism is as eastern as western. It draws as much from Moorish, Islamic,
Egyptian, and Indian art and architecture as from Roman or Greek.
Conception of architecture as a work of art.
EXPRESSIONALISMExpressionist architecture was an architectural movement that developed in Europe during the first
decades of the 20th century in parallel with the expressionist visual and performing arts.
The term "Expressionist architecture" initially described the activities of the German, Dutch, Austrian,
Czech and Danish avant garde from 1910 until ca. 1924. Subsequent redefinitions extended the term
backwards to 1905 and also widened it to encompass the rest of Europe. Today the meaning has
broadened even further to refer to architecture of any date or location that exhibits some of the qualities
of the original movement such as; distortion, fragmentation or the communication of violent or
overstressed emotion.
The style was characterised by an early-modernist adoption of novel materials, formal innovation, and
very unusual massing, sometimes inspired by natural biomorphic forms, sometimes by the new technical
possibilities offered by the mass production of brick, steel and especially glass. Many expressionist
architects fought in World War I and their experiences, combined with the political turmoil and social
upheaval that followed the German Revolution of 1919, resulted in a utopian outlook and a romantic
socialist agenda.[Economic conditions severely limited the number of built commissions between 1914 and
the mid 1920s,[3] resulting in many of the most important expressionist works remaining as projects on
paper, such as Bruno Taut's Alpine Architecture and Hermann Finsterlin's Formspiels. Ephemeral
exhibition buildings were numerous and highly significant during this period. Scenography for theatre and
films provided another outlet for the expressionist imagination,[4] and provided supplemental incomes for
designers attempting to challenge conventions in a harsh economic climate.
Einstein Tower in
Potsdam-Berlin by
Erich Mendelsohn 1919-
22
Catholic parish church
"Heilig-Kreuz" at
Gelsenkirchen by Josef
Franke, 1927–1929
CONSTRUCTIVISM
Constructivist architecture was a form of
modern architecture that flourished in the Soviet Union in the
1920s and early 1930s. It combined advanced technology and
engineering with an avowedly Communist social purpose.
Although it was divided into several competing factions, the
movement produced many pioneering projects and finished
buildings, before falling out of favour around 1932. Its effects
have been marked on later developments in architecture.
CONSTUCTIVISM
Constructivist architecture emerged from the wider constructivist art movement, which grew
out of Russian Futurism. Constructivist art had attempted to apply a three-dimensional cubist
vision to wholly abstract non-objective 'constructions' with a kinetic element. After the
Russian Revolution of 1917 it turned its attentions to the new social demands and industrial
tasks required of the new regime. Two distinct threads emerged, the first was encapsulated in
Antoine Pevsner's and Naum Gabo's Realist manifesto which was concerned with space and
rhythm, the second represented a struggle within the Commissariat for Enlightenment between
those who argued for pure art and the Productivists such as Alexander Rodchenko, Varvara
Stepanova and Vladimir Tatlin, a more socially-oriented group who wanted this art to be
absorbed in industrial production.[1]
A split occurred in 1922 when Pevsner and Gabo emigrated. The movement then developed
along socially utilitarian lines. The productivist majority gained the support of the Proletkult and
the magazine LEF, and later became the dominant influence of the architectural group O.S.A.
Hotel Iset (
Yekaterinburg, 'Chekists
Village')
M
Narkomfin Building by
Moisei Ginzburg.
Currently under threat
of demolition, the
building is at the top of
UNESCO's 'Endangered
Buildings' list, and there
is an international
campaign to save it
Van Nelle Factory in
Rotterdam by
Leendert van der Vlugt
(and Mart Stam) 1927-
31
School 518 by Ivan
Zvezdin, 1935
ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE
Organic architecture is a philosophy of architecture which promotes harmony between human habitation
and the natural world through design approaches so sympathetic and well integrated with its site that
buildings, furnishings, and surroundings become part of a unified, interrelated composition. Architects
Gustav Stickley, Antoni Gaudi, Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, John Lautner, Claude Bragdon, Bruce Goff
, Rudolf Steiner, Bruno Zevi, Hundertwasser, Imre Makovecz, Neville Gruzman and most recently Anton
Alberts, Nari Gandhi, John Preihs and Laurie Baker are all famous for their work with organic architecture.
Organic architecture is also translated into the all inclusive nature of Frank Lloyd Wright’s design process.
Materials, motifs, and basic ordering principals continue to repeat themselves throughout the building as a
whole. The idea of organic architecture refers not only to the buildings' literal relationship to the natural
surroundings, but how the buildings' design is carefully thought about as if it were a unified organism.
Geometries throughout Wright’s buildings build a central mood and theme. Essentially organic architecture
is also the literal design of every element of a building: From the windows, to the floors, to the individual
chairs intended to fill the space. Everything relates to one another, reflecting the symbiotic ordering systems
of nature.
ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE
The term organic architecture was coined by the famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-
1959), though never well articulated by his cryptic style of writing:
"So here I stand before you preaching organic architecture: declaring organic architecture to be
the modern ideal and the teaching so much needed if we are to see the whole of life, and to now
serve the whole of life, holding no traditions essential to the great TRADITION. Nor cherishing
any preconceived form fixing upon us either past, present or future, but instead exalting the
simple laws of common sense or of super-sense if you prefer determining form by way of the
nature of materials..." - Frank Lloyd Wright, written in 1939[ Other modernist architects in the
U.S., Europe, and elsewhere held complementary and often competing views of how architecture
could best emulate nature. Key figures in the U.S. included Louis Sullivan and Claude Bragdon,
while among European modernists Hugo Häring and Hans Scharoun stand out. Following World
War II, organic architecture often reflected cybernetic and informatic models of life, as is
reflected in the later work of Buckminster Fuller.
Architect and planner David Pearson proposed a list of rules towards the
design of organic architecture. These rules are known as the Gaia Charter
for organic architecture and design. It reads:
"Let the design:
be inspired by nature and be sustainable, healthy, conserving, and diverse.
unfold, like an organism, from the seed within.
exist in the "continuous present" and "begin again and again".
follow the flows and be flexible and adaptable.
satisfy social, physical, and spiritual needs.
"grow out of the site" and be unique.
celebrate the spirit of youth, play and surprise.
express the rhythm of music and the power of dance
Fallingwater by Frank Lloyd Wright
ART NOUVEAU ARCHITECTURE
In architecture, hyperbolas and parabolas in windows, arches and doors are
common, and decorative mouldings 'grow' into plant-derived forms. Like most
design styles, Art Nouveau sought to harmonise its forms. The text above the
Paris Metro entrance follows the qualities of the rest of the iron work in the
structure.[35]
Art Nouveau in architecture and interior design eschewed the eclectic revival
styles of the Victorian era. Though Art Nouveau designers selected and
'modernized' some of the more abstract elements of Rococo style, such as flame
and shell textures, they also advocated the use of highly stylized organic forms
as a source of inspiration, expanding the 'natural' repertoire to embrace
seaweed, grasses, and insects.
Art Nouveau is rarely so fully in control of architecture: doorway at place Etienne Pernet, 24 (Paris 15e), 1905 Alfred Wagon, architect
"Majolikahaus" (det.) 1898 by Otto Wagner
ART DECO STYLE
Art Deco was a popular international art design movement from 1925 until the 1940s, affecting the
decorative arts such as architecture, interior design and industrial design, as well as the visual arts such as fashion,
painting, the graphic arts and film. At the time, this style was seen as elegant, glamorous, functional and modern.
The movement was a mixture of many different styles and movements of the early 20th century, including
Neoclassical, Constructivism, Cubism, Modernism, Art Nouveau, and Futurism.[1] Its popularity peaked in Europe
during the Roaring Twenties[2] and continued strongly in the United States through the 1930s.[3] Although many
design movements have political or philosophical roots or intentions, Art Deco was purely decorative.[4]
Art Deco experienced a decline in popularity during the late '30s and early '40s, but experienced a resurgence
with the popularization of graphic design in the 1980s. Art Deco had a profound influence on many later artistic
movements, such as Memphis and Pop art.
Surviving examples may still be seen in many different locations worldwide, in countries as diverse as China (
Shanghai), United Kingdom, Spain, Cuba, Indonesia, the Philippines, Argentina, Romania, Australia, New Zealand,
India, Brazil, Colombia, and the United States (primarily in Miami, Los Angeles and New York City). Many classic
examples still exist in the form of architecture in many major cities. The Empire State Building and
Chrysler Building, both in New York City, are two of the largest and best-known examples of the style.
ART DECO
Art Deco is characterized by use of materials such as aluminium,
stainless steel, lacquer and inlaid wood.] Exotic materials such as
sharkskin (shagreen), and zebra skin were also in evidence. The
bold use of stepped forms and sweeping curves (unlike the sinuous,
natural curves of the Art Nouveau),[13][23] chevron patterns, and the
sunburst motif are typical of Art Deco. Some of these motifs were
ubiquitous — for example, sunburst motifs were used in such
varied contexts as ladies' shoes, radiator grilles, the auditorium of
the Radio City Music Hall, and the spire of the Chrysler Building.
Terracotta
sunburst design in gold
behind sky blue and
deep blue above the
front doors of the
Eastern Columbia Buildi
ng
in Los Angeles
The Art Deco spire of
the Chrysler Building in
New York, built 1928–
1930
City Hall of Buffalo, New York, an Art Deco
building.
MODERNISM
Modern architecture is characterized by simplification of form
and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the
building. The first variants were conceived early in the 20th
century. Modern architecture was adopted by many influential
architects and architectural educators, however very few "Modern
buildings" were built in the first half of the century. It gained
popularity after the Second World War and became the dominant
architectural style for institutional and corporate buildings for
three decades, covering practically most of the Cold War era.
MODERNISM
Architects who worked in the International style wanted to break with
architectural tradition and design simple, unornamented buildings. The
most commonly used materials are glass for the facade, steel for exterior
support, and concrete for the floors and interior supports; floor plans
were functional and logical. The style became most evident in the design
of skyscrapers. Perhaps its most famous manifestations include the
United Nations headquarters (Le Corbusier, Oscar Niemeyer, Sir Howard
Robertson), the Seagram Building and the Toronto-Dominion Centre (
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe), and Lever House (
Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill).
Marina City (left) and IBM Plaza (right) in
Chicago.
POST MODERNISM
Postmodern architecture was an international style whose first examples are generally
cited as being from the 1950s, but which did not become a movement until the late 1970s [1]
and continues to influence present-day architecture. Postmodernity in architecture is
generally thought to be heralded by the return of "wit, ornament and reference" to
architecture in response to the formalism of the International Style of modernism. As with
many cultural movements, some of postmodernism's most pronounced and visible ideas can
be seen in architecture. The functional and formalized shapes and spaces of the modernist
movement are replaced by unapologetically diverse aesthetics: styles collide, form is
adopted for its own sake, and new ways of viewing familiar styles and space abound.
One popular building style of postmodernist style architecture is the use of pent roofing in
buildings, where roofs are slanted at an even angle from one wall to the other. Peaked
roofing however, as seen on most traditional single-family homes, is an example of Modernist
Architecture.
POST MODERN ARCITECTURE
Postmodern architecture has also been described as "
neo-eclectic", where reference and ornament have returned to
the facade, replacing the aggressively unornamented modern
styles. This eclecticism is often combined with the use of non-
orthogonal angles and unusual surfaces, most famously in the
State Gallery of Stuttgart (New wing of the Staatsgalerie
Stuttgart) and the Piazza d'Italia by Charles Moore. The Scottish
Parliament buildings in Edinburgh have also been cited as being
of postmodern vogue.
Bank of America Center in
Houston by John Burgee and
Philip Johnson. It combines
architecture elements of pre-
WWII skyscrapers with
elements of modern aesthetics.
1000 de La Gauchetière, in
Montréal, with ornamented
and strongly defined top,
middle and bottom. Contrast
with the modernist
Seagram Building.
Esplanade of Europe by Ricardo Bofill, Montpellier
(1978-2000).
BAUHOUS ARCHETECTURE
A school of design established in Weimar, Germany, by Walter
Gropius in 1919. The term became virtually synonymous with modern
teaching methods in architecture and the applied arts, and with a
functional aesthetic for the industrial age; often characterized by
emphasis on functional design, the use of a repetitive interval between
members of the framework of a building, and the maintenance of
purely geometric forms. Often, major building components such as
bays, doors, and windows are placed to coincide with this repetitive
interval, although the building itself may be asymmetrical.
Typography by Herbert Bayer above the entrance to the workshop block of the Bauhaus, Dessau, 2005
The Bauhaus
DECONSTRUCTIVISM
Deconstructivism in architecture, also called deconstruction,
is a development of postmodern architecture that began in the
late 1980s. It is characterized by ideas of fragmentation, an
interest in manipulating ideas of a structure's surface or skin, non-
rectilinear shapes which serve to distort and dislocate some of the
elements of architecture, such as structure and envelope. The
finished visual appearance of buildings that exhibit the many
deconstructivist "styles" is characterized by a stimulating
unpredictability and a controlled chaos.
DECONSTRUCTIVISM
Originally, some of the architects known as Deconstructivists were influenced by the
ideas of the French philosopher Jacques Derrida. Eisenman developed a personal
relationship with Derrida, but even so his approach to architectural design was
developed long before he became a Deconstructivist. For him Deconstructivism should
be considered an extension of his interest in radical formalism. Some practitioners of
deconstructivism were also influenced by the formal experimentation and geometric
imbalances of Russian constructivism. There are additional references in
deconstructivism to 20th-century movements: the modernism/postmodernism interplay,
expressionism, cubism, minimalism and contemporary art. The attempt in
deconstructivism throughout is to move architecture away from what its practitioners
see as the constricting 'rules' of modernism such as "form follows function," "
purity of form," and "truth to materials."
Libeskind's Imperial War Museum North in Manchester comprises three apparently intersecting curved volumes.
Dancing House in Prague by Vlado Milunić and Frank Gehry
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao by Frank Gehry, on the Nervión River in downtown Bilbao, Spain.
Turning Torso in Malmo by Santiago Calatrava.
ARTS AND CRAFTS MOVEMENT
The Arts and Crafts Movement was an international design
movement that originated in Britain and flourished between
1880 and 1910. It was instigated by the artist and writer
William Morris (1834–1896) in the 1860s and was inspired by
the writings of John Ruskin (1819–1900). It influenced
architecture, domestic design and the decorative arts, using
simple forms and a medieval style of decoration. It advocated
truth to materials, traditional craftsmanship and economic
reform.
The "Prairie School" of Frank Lloyd Wright,
George Washington Maher and other architects in Chicago, the
Country Day School movement, the bungalow and
Ultimate bungalow style of houses popularized by
Greene and Greene, Julia Morgan, and Bernard Maybeck are some
examples of the American Arts and Crafts and
American Craftsman Movement in architecture. Restored and
landmark protected examples are still present in America,
especially in Berkeley and Pasadena, California, and the sections
of other towns originally developed in the era and escaping post-
war urban renewal.
The Oregon Public Library in Oregon, Illinois, U.S. by Pond and Pond, an example of Arts and Crafts building in a Carnegie Library.
Interior of Standen, a house in Sussex designed by Philip Webb in 1891. It was inspired by local buildings and used local materials. Many of the furnishings are by Morris & Co
BEAUX ARTS ARCHITECTURE
Beaux-Arts architecture[1] denotes the academic neoclassical
architectural style that was taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. The
style "Beaux Arts" is above all the cumulative product of two and a half
centuries of instruction under the authority, first of the Académie royale
d'architecture, then, following the Revolution, of the Architecture section of
the Académie des Beaux-Arts. The organization under the Ancien Régime of
the competition for the Grand Prix de Rome in architecture, offering a chance
to study in Rome, imprinted its codes and aesthetic on the course of
instruction, which culminated during the Second Empire (1850-1870) and the
Third Republic that followed. The style of instruction that produced Beaux-Arts
architecture continued without a major renovation until 1968.
BEAUX-ARTS ARCHITECTURE
The Beaux-Arts style heavily influenced US
architecture in the period 1880–1920.[3] Other
European architects of the period 1860–1914 tended
to gravitate towards their own national academic
centers rather than fixating on Paris. British
architects of Imperial classicism, in a development
culminating in Sir Edwin Lutyens's New Delhi
government buildings, followed a somewhat more
independent course, owing to the cultural politics of
the late 19th century.
CHARACTERISTICS
Flat roof
Rusticated and raised first story. Hierarchy of spaces, from "noble spaces"—grand entrances
and staircases— to utilitarian ones
Arched windows
Arched and pedimented doors
Classical details : references to a synthesis of historicist styles and a tendency to eclecticism;
fluently in a number of "manners".
Symmetry
Statuary , sculpture (bas-relief panels, figural sculptures, sculptural groups), murals, mosaics,
and other artwork, all coordinated themed to assert the identity of the building
Classical architectural details]: balustrades, pilasters, garlands, cartouches, with a prominent
display of richly detailed clasps (agrafes) brackets and supporting consoles
Subtle polychromy
Alternating male and female mascarons decorate keystones on the San Francisco City Hall
The last major American building constructed in the Beaux-Arts style, the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House, completed 1932
Palais Garnier (opened 1875) is a cornerpiece of Beaux Arts
Beaux-Arts building decoration presenting images of the Roman goddesses Pomona and Diana. Note the naturalism of the postures and the rustication of the stonework.
BRUTALISM
Brutalist architecture is a style of architecture which flourished from
the 1950s to the mid 1970s, spawned from the modernist architectural
movement.The English architects Alison and Peter Smithson coined the
term in 1954, from the French béton brut, or "raw concrete," a phrase
used by Le Corbusier to describe the poured board-marked concrete with
which he constructed many of his post-WWII buildings. The term gained
wide currency when the British architectural critic Reyner Banham used
it in the title of his 1966 book, The New Brutalism: Ethic or Aesthetic?, to
characterize a by then established cluster of architectural approaches,
particularly in Europe.
BRUTALISM
Brutalist buildings usually are formed with striking repetitive angular geometries, and,
where concrete is used, often revealing the texture of the wooden forms used for the
in-situ casting. Although concrete is the material most widely associated with Brutalist
architecture, not all Brutalist buildings are formed from concrete. Instead, a building
may achieve its Brutalist quality through a rough, blocky appearance, and the
expression of its structural materials, forms, and (in some cases) services on its exterior.
For example, many of Alison and Peter Smithson's private houses are built from brick.
Brutalist building materials also include brick, glass, steel, rough-hewn stone, and
gabion (also known as trapion). Conversely, not all buildings exhibiting an exposed
concrete exterior can be considered Brutalist, and may belong to one of a range of
architectural styles including Constructivism, International Style, Expressionism,
Postmodernism, and Deconstructivism.
Another common theme in Brutalist designs is the exposure of the
building's functions—ranging from their structure and services to their
human use—in the exterior of the building. In the Boston City Hall
(illustration right), designed in 1962, the strikingly different and
projected portions of the building indicate the special nature of the
rooms behind those walls, such as the mayor's office or the city council
chambers. From another perspective, the design of the Hunstanton
School included placing the facility's water tank, normally a hidden
service feature, in a prominent, visible tower.
Boston City Hall, part of Government Center, Boston, Massachusetts
(Gerhardt Kallmann and N. Michael McKinnell, 1969)
Brutalism as an architectural philosophy, rather than a style, was often
also associated with a socialist utopian ideology, which tended to be
supported by its designers, especially Alison and Peter Smithson, near the
height of the style. Critics argue that this abstract nature of Brutalism
makes the style unfriendly and uncommunicative, instead of being
integrating and protective, as its proponents intended. Brutalism also is
criticised as disregarding the social, historic, and architectural
environment of its surroundings, making the introduction of such
structures in existing developed areas appear starkly out of place and
alien. The failure of positive communities to form early on in some
Brutalist structures, possibly due to the larger processes of urban decay
that set in after World War II (especially in the United Kingdom), led to
the combined unpopularity of both the ideology and the architectural
style.
J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington, D.C.
The Brutalist Roger Stevens Building at the University of Leeds is the centre piece to a large complex of Brutalist buildings connected by skyways.
CONCEPTUAL ARCHITECTURE
Conceptual architecture is a term used to describe certain buildings and practices that make use of
conceptualism in architecture. Conceptual architecture is characterized by an introduction of ideas or
concepts from outside of architecture often as a means of expanding the discipline of architecture. This
produces an essentially different kind of building than one produced by the widely held 'architect as a
master-builder' model, in which craft and construction are the guiding principles. The finished building as
product is less important in conceptual architecture, than the ideas guiding them, ideas represented
primarily by texts, diagrams, or art installations. Architects that work in this vein are Diller + Scofidio,
Bernard Tschumi, Peter Eisenman and Rem Koolhaas.
Conceptual architecture was studied in the essay, Notes on Conceptual Architecture: Towards a Definition
by Peter Eisenman in 1970, and again by the Harvard Design Magazine in Fall of 2003 and Winter 2004, by a
series of articles under the heading Architecture as Conceptual Art. But the understanding of design as a
construction of a concept was understood by many modernist architects as well. To quote Louis Kahn on
Frank Lloyd Wright:
It doesn't work, it doesn't have to work. Wright had the shape conceived long before he knew what was
going into it. I claim that is where architecture starts, with the concept.
CONTEXTUALISM
In architectural theory, contextualism is a theory of
design wherein modern building types are
harmonized with urban forms usual to a traditional
city.
Contextualism showing respect for historic environment began to dictate its shaping techniques. Most vividly this became apparent in reconstruction of the historic center of the city.
ARQUITECTONICA
Arquitectonica is an international architecture, interior design and planning
corporation headquartered in Miami, Florida, United States with offices in 9 other cities.
[1] Arquitectonica began in 1977 as an experimental studio founded by
Bernardo Fort-Brescia, Laurinda Hope Spear, Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk,
and Hervin Romney.[citation needed]
Today the firm continues to be led by Bernardo Fort-Brescia and Laurinda Hope Spear,
and has designed such famous buildings as the Banco de Credito Headquarters, Lima
(1988), Atlantis Condominium, the Pink House, and the American Airlines Arena in Miami
and the Westin Hotel and entertainment complex in New York, amongst many others. [2]
Their global headquarters are at 801 Brickell Avenue in the Brickell Financial District of
Miami, with regional offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Madrid, Paris, Hong Kong,
Shanghai, Manila, Dubai, Sao Paulo and Lima.
American Airlines Arena in Miami
The Lima Marriott Hotel is one of the many projects the firm has in Peru.
Westin Times Square Hotel in New York
FORMALISM
As the name suggests, Formalism emphasizes form. The
architect is interested in visual relationships between the
building parts and the work as a whole. Shape, often on a
monumental scale, is the focus of attention. Lines and rigid
geometric shapes predominate in Formalist architecture. You
will find Formalism in many Modernist buildings, especially in
Bauhaus and International Style architecture. Architect I.M. Pei
has often been praised for the "elegant formalism" of his works.
The Bank of China Tower, 1990, by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Ieoh Ming Pei
FUTURIST STYLE
Futurist architecture (or Futurism) began as an early-20th century
form of architecture characterized by anti-historicism and long horizontal
lines suggesting speed, motion and urgency. Technology and even
violence were among the themes of the Futurists. The movement was
founded by the poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, who produced its first
manifesto, the Manifesto of Futurism in 1909. The movement attracted
not only poets, musicians, and artists (such as Umberto Boccioni,
Giacomo Balla, Fortunato Depero, and Enrico Prampolini) but also a
number of architects. The latter group included Antonio Sant'Elia, who,
though he built little, translated the Futurist vision into bold urban form
Ferrohouse in Zurich (Justus Dahinden, 1970)
Cathedral, Brasilia (Oscar Niemeyer, 1960)
FUNCTIONALISM
Functionalism, in architecture, is the principle that architects should design a
building based on the purpose of that building. This statement is less self-evident than
it first appears, and is a matter of confusion and controversy within the profession,
particularly in regard to modern architecture.
The place of functionalism in building can be traced back to the Vitruvian triad,
where 'utilitas' (variously translated as 'commodity', 'convenience', or 'utility') stands
alongside 'venustas' (beauty) and 'firmitas' (firmness) as one of three classic goals of
architecture. Functionalist views were typical of some gothic revival architects, in
particular Augustus Welby Pugin wrote that «there should be no features about a
building which are not necessary for convenience, construction, or propriety» and «all
ornament should consist of enrichment of the essential construction of the building»
The debate about functionalism and
aesthetics is often framed as a mutually exclusive choice,
when in fact there are architects, like Will Bruder, James
Polshek and Ken Yeang, who attempt to satisfy all three
Vitruvian goals.
The tower of the Helsinki Olympic Stadium (Y. Lindegren & T. Jäntti, built in 1934-38)
VISIONARY ARCHITECTURE
Visionary architecture is the name given to architecture
which exists only on paper or which has visionary qualities.
Étienne-Louis Boullée, Claude Nicolas Ledoux and
Jean-Jacques Lequeu are three of the earliest examples of the
discipline. But the work of Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Antonio
Sant'Elia and Buckminster Fuller is also included. In the latter
half of the 20th century, there were architectural design
movements such as Archigram, Archizoom and Superstudio.
Milan, the Sempione Axis with the 1991 IDC project.
THE END