20th Century Architecture Part II
Dictum of Modern Architecture Ludwig Mies van der Rohe: “Less is more.”
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Seagram Building, New York, 1954-58
Robert Venturi “Less is a bore.” (1966) (Fiero 978)
Charles Jencks Postmodern architecture is characterized by a "double coding": two or more styles which co-exist in contradiction and/or self-mockery. http://architecture.about.com/library/bl-postmodern.htm
Postmodern architecture Sense of "anything goes": Forms filled with humor, irony, ambiguity, contradiction Juxtaposition of styles: Blend of traditional, contemporary, and newly-invented forms Exaggerated or abstract traditional detailing http://architecture.about.com/library/bl-postmodern.htm
Postmodern Features Clash of scales Postmodern architecture often includes elements that are clearly out of scale with the rest of the building. This is most obvious where the building borrows from other styles. The mixing of large and small classical orders, the distortion and exaggeration of motifs, can make a building seem dramatic and grand. Architects also played with scale to introduce surprise and a sense of fun. http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/architecture/style_level3.php?id=256&parent=260&area=0
Les Espaces d’Abraxas, France, 1979-82
Postmodern features Thin façades Some Postmodern buildings have thin fronts that are clearly distinct from the rest of the building. In some cases the thinness is exaggerated as a visual joke. For example, the facade may dissolve into the windows at the side of the building. On other buildings, the façades are treated as little more than billboards or stage backdrops. This allowed architects greater freedom of expression in the design of the building front. http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/architecture/style_level4.php?id=256&parent=260&object=213&area=0&ext=.swf
China Wharf, London, 1986-88
Postmodern Features Classical references Postmodern buildings often used elements of classical architecture. In most cases the use is decorative not structural. Nor is it 'correct'. Postmodern architects did not follow the strict principles of the classical style. For example, they deliberately combined and exaggerated columns, arches and rough masonry. They took elements from Greek temples and applied them to buildings that had entirely modern functions. The effect is often quirky and playful. http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/architecture/style_level4.php?id=256&parent=260&object=214&area=0&ext=.swf
Kengo Kuma, M2 Tokyo, 1991
Kengo Kuma, M2 Tokyo, 1991
Kengo Kuma, Doric Tokyo, 1991
A precursor?
Claude-Nicholas Ledoux, Royal Saltworks, 1774-79 Gatehouse with entrance portico
Claude-Nicholas Ledoux, Royal Saltworks, 1774-79 Director’s House
Robert Venturi In favor of messy vitality in architecture Believed in aesthetic ambiguity and visual tension Postmodern vision: “both-and” rather than “either-or”
A conventional building
Venturi, Vanna Venturi House, Philadelphia, 1962
Venturi, Vanna Venturi House, Philadelphia, 1962
Venturi, Gordon Wu Hall, Butler College, Princeton University Princeton, NJ 1980
Michael Graves
Public Services Building, Portland, Oregon, 1980-82
Michael Graves Humana Building (Louisville) 1986
The Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia
Disney Center
MICHAEL GRAVES, Walt Disney World, Swan Hotel, Florida, 1987
MICHAEL GRAVES, Walt Disney World, Swan Hotel, Florida, 1987
MICHAEL GRAVES,Walt Disney World-Dolphin Hotel
MICHAEL GRAVES,Walt Disney World-Dolphin Hotel
Philip Johnson
P. Johnson & J Burgee: AT&T Building, NYC, 1979-84
Philip Johnson and John Burgee: PPG Place, Pittsburgh, PA 1979-84
Philip Johnson and John Burgee: PPG Place, Pittsburgh, PA 1979-84
P. Johnson & J Burgee: International Place, Boston, 1985
Charles Moore
Charles Moore, Piazza d’Italia, New Orleans, USA, 1976-79
Charles Moore, Piazza d’Italia, New Orleans, USA, 1976-79
Frank Gehry
Gehry, Vitra Design Museum, Weil-am-Rhein, Germany, 1987 to 1989
Gehry, Vitra Design Museum, Weil-am-Rhein, Germany, 1987 to 1989
Frank Gehry, Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain, 1997
Gehry, Guggenheim Museum, at Bilbao, Spain, 1997
Gehry, Experience Music Project, at Seattle, Washington, 1999 to 2000
Frank Gehry, Experience Music Project, Seattle, Washington, 1999 to 2000
I. M. Pei
Las Vegas
High-tech Exposed structure Glass Tension structures http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/architecture/style_level3.php?id=255&parent=260&area=0
High-tech Pompidou Center, Paris, 1971-77
The End