Landmark Park Avenue Skyscraper - Case Study Example

Landmark Park Avenue Skyscraper Outline Background information of Landmark Park Avenue Skyscraper The designers of the building: Mies Van Der Rohe Characteristics of modernism in the design/ radical design. Flat rooftops with linear elements. Extensive use of recessed glass windows and steel. Simple minimalist architectural design. Landmark Park Skyscrapers are twin towers along the Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. 1Construction of these towers began in 1949 and completed in 1951. The Landmark Park Avenue towers are among the many structures designed by famous architect Ludwig Mies van Rohe. The public designated these two towers as the landmarks of Chicago due to their radical and very different design. Landmark Park Avenue Skyscrapers contain twenty-six floors and are 254 feet tall. These towers were among the first glass and steel skyscrapers to be built. They represented a departure from the brick and designs that were common during the 1940s and 50s. These towers served as an embodiment of modern architectural designs. In addition, the towers were vital in the development of high-tech architectural designs. The towers’ designer Mies Van Der is one of the pioneers of modern architectural design2. He introduced new design styles that were commensurate with modern trends and styles. In particular, Mies and other architects introduced the use of steel and glass in construction of structures and creating interior spaces. In addition, Mies was a minimalist architect who resisted the use of unnecessary elements while designing buildings. He strove to design buildings with structural frameworks and free open space. Nonetheless, Mies aimed to keep up with modern trends in design even though he designed simple, minimal structures. Mies work on modern designs began after the World War I. There was increased pressure to develop new design models to replace the outdated classical designs. 3Mies’ debut as a modernist architect began when he proposed the construction of an all-glass structure in 1921. Landmark Park Towers was marked the fulfillment of Mies’ desire to construct an all glass building that began in 1921 Landmark Park Skyscrapers marked the end of the neo-classical era and the beginning of modernism in architecture. 4These towers were the first apartments to have an all steel and glass structure. The towers have a glass-enclosed lobby around the building’s parameters. The exposed lobby created a modern arcade that resembled the ancient Greek temples. This design of an enclosed glass lobby has a served as a perfect embodiment of buildings that create freedom and space especially at the ground level. The creation of an open space in the ground floor became Mies’ embodiment design in all his buildings. The building’s interior design consisted of free air space that served as a contrast to the busy congested streets. Modern architecture is different from traditional aesthetics of constructions. 5Modern architecture do not follow the standard ideas of designing buildings, but instead engage in projects influenced by their locations, plan and functions. In modern architecture, the function of a building decides its design. For instance. The design of residential homes is different from the design of buildings for commercial purposes. If the purpose of a particular project is to display a particular trait for instance a residential home, the purpose of the architect is to ensure that the he designs the project according to the desired purpose of the building. Landmark Avenue Park Towers apply modern architectural design characteristics such as flat roofs and horizontal planes. The building is rectangular with horizontal and vertical lines. This building is akin to the shape of a box. This structure has perfect planes and sides. The designers juxtaposed the planes together using vertical and horizontal frames. The use of perfect vertical and horizontal frames is a mid-century modern architectural style used mainly during the 1930s and 1940s. Although post-modern architectural styles apply the use of curved and multidimensional shapes while designing buildings, the rectangular shape used in Landmark Park Towers is a modern style design though a mid-century design. Landmark Park Towers’ constructors used modern building materials for the design and the construction of the Towers .In fact, the building’s extensive use of steel and glass made it stand out and become different from the rest of the buildings constructed before. The building consists of large steel columns and frames. The building contains large steel frames in between the floors and windows. In addition, the construction company used glass plates with minimum use concrete blocks. The constructors only used concrete while constructing the floors. The use of the concrete complimented the steel frames to provide stability. The building contains long-span steel trusses along the steel frames. The steel trusses contain open free-spaces to provide further room ventilation. 6 Most modern buildings have simple architectural forms and Landmark Park Towers is not an exception. This building does not contain any unnecessary clutter and elements. Modern architectural designers emphasize on clarity with emphasis on the basic design only. The degrees of modernism differ depending on the designers. Minimalism entail a strict design with only the basic building design incorporated. The most common form of modernism is the incorporation of minimalist values with the owner’s personal style. Like most structures designed by Mies, Landmark Park Towers apply minimalism in its design structure. The building’s design does not contain any unnecessary elements since it contains a simple design of flat rooftop with large horizontal and vertical frames. 7These two towers marked the end of the classical era and the beginning of the modern era in architectural design. It was the first building to have an all-encompassing glass and steel wall. The characteristics of modernism Landmark Park Towers in include the use of a simple, minimalist design with flat rooftop lines. The Building has large frames and planes that are linear either vertical or horizontal that form a rectangular shape. Most materials used in the construction of the building are modern and include steel frames and glass plates. The building’s interior design creates space consists of free open spaces created by the glass plates used in the building’s design. These two towers are a quintessence of the design style of Mies Van Der. The open space created by the glass lobby at the building’ ground level served as a prototype for most modern buildings. Endnotes In Waldheim, C., & In Ray, K. R. 2005. Chicago architecture: Histories, revisions, alternatives. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Kamin, B. 2010. Terror and wonder: Architecture in a tumultuous age. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press Schulze, Franz, and Edward Windhorst. 2012. Mies van der Rohe: a critical biography. Chicago, Ill: University of Chicago Press. Read More