Changing Building Facades: Architecture in the Twentieth Century - Essay Example

Changing Building Facades: Architecture in the Twentieth Century Man has constructed some of the most magnificent and outstanding pieces of art in the form of buildings. Architecture has long served as a means of protection and shelter for mankind. Beautiful architecture however, symbolizes and enterprises our lives and culture. Many monuments that we see today have been there since decades, they have withstood the forces of time and weather (Gossel, Peter). They stand there, explicitly speaking of our culture, our history and heritage. Therefore, the architecture of a place is symbolic of the kinds of people that have lived there. Since architecture is symbolic of cultures, ideas, values and traditions; the kind of architecture has been evolving over the years. Sometimes it shows intricate geometries; sometimes it shows art and war while sometimes it is flat and plain. Therefore as times change, so do the traditions and the way of life. The architecture of a place vividly captures the way of life and so it keeps evolving with time. The architecture of the twentieth century portrays what is called modernism. Modernism is just not another style or trend rather it is a whole new way of thinking and observing things. The architecture varied in its style as the century proceeded from Art Moderne to Decontructivism to Formalism and Modernism to Structuralism and finally to Postmodernism. The different kinds of architecture differed in every aspect from each other thus they all formulate our heritage and a very important part of our history (Colquhoun, Alan). It tells us how the pattern of thinking evolved with time hence architecture is greatly valued and remarkably preserved all around the globe. The twentieth century saw the most diversified art forms in terms of architecture. It began with a gush of modernism. It is important to understand what modernism is in terms of architectural design. Modernist architecture is not ornament oriented rather its function oriented. Instead of just providing looks and feel it seeks to provide for specific needs (Conrads, Ulrich). The roots of modernism lie in the work of Luberkin, Berthold who was a Russian architect settled in London. Luberkin formed a group of architects called Tecton in London with the aim of applying scientific and analytic methods to the design of buildings. All kinds of architecture are differentiated by certain features. The most prominent features of modernism are little or no ornamentation. Previously buildings were decorated lavishly not just by paintings and carvings but also by precious stones and metals. The buildings used to be exuberant but modernism changed the way of thought by giving priority to simplicity. There was a greater emphasis on function and there was a revolution in favor of man-made materials such as metals and concrete and factory made parts. During the modernist period, there was a great rebellion against traditional styles and customs. The architects who made a great mark in modernism are Rem Koolhaas, Philip Johnson and Le Corbusier. Koolhaas, Rem was a Dutch architect who taught “Architecture and Urban Design” at Harvard University, USA. Koolhaas construction sites are most preserved in China. He designed the massive Central China Television Headquarters Building in Beijing and the new building for Shenzhen Stock Exchange in China. Johnson, Philip was an American architect who continued to influence architecture till his death in 2005. One of Johnson’s masterpieces was the Glass House that he designed in 1949. It was Johnson’s own residence in Connecticut. The glass house sits at the corner of Johnson’s estate. Its sides are made of glass and charcoal painted steel. The floor is made out of bricks and the interior is an open space that is divided into some cabinets and a brick cylinder that contains the bathroom. Other notable works of Johnson include the arch street house in Massachusetts, the Booth House in Bedford village and the Seagram Building. Le Corbusier was a Swiss-French scientist who is known to be one of the pioneers of modern architecture. His architectural career spanned for five decades in which he made his mark over Europe, India, Russia, South and North America. Le Corbusier summed up his architectural ideas and philosophy in what we know today as his five points of architecture. He talked of these in his book Versune Architecture. Firstly, he lifted off the entire structure of the building from the ground and laid it on the support of pilotis which are in fact, concrete stilts. Secondly, he had non-supporting walls that could be designed as per the architect wills. Corbusier called this a free façade. Thirdly, he made a floor space that was free to be configured into rooms without raising concerns for supporting walls. His forth point included having a second floor of the Villa Savoye which was made with ribbon so that views of the yard were unhindered and Corbusier’s last point was about the roof garden. It was constructed to compensate for the greenery that was eaten up by the building and replacing it on the roof. Corbusier’s most famous works include the Villa Fallet in Switzerland, Villa Jeanneret-Perret, Villa Schwob and Besnos House in Paris. Bauhaus architecture got extreme momentum in the early 1900s. Germany was in war until 1919 and the war left Germany on a crushing state. It had to rebuild the most important buildings and construct monuments all over again. In such a crucial stage, Walter Gropius was appointed to head an institution of architects that would help rebuild the country and form the new social order. Bauhaus architects rejected the idea of excessive ornamentation and concentrated on classical architecture in its pure form. They rejected details such as cornices, eaves and other decorative details and focused on simple buildings without ornamentation of any kind. These buildings focused on flat roofs, cubic shapes and smooth facades. Bauhaus buildings also rejected the idea of bright colors and focused more on whites, grays and blacks (Cadwell, Michael). The furniture was not ornate anymore rather very functional and simple. This kind of furniture however was very short lived. It was disbanded when Nazis came to power. The Bauhaus architects then fled to the United States. The most prominent Bauhaus architects were Walter Gropius, Richard Neutra and Marcel Breuer. Walter Gropius was a German architect who was also the founder of the Bauhaus school of architecture. One of the most prominent works by Gropius was the famous door handles which are now considered as an icon of the 20th century. He was aided by the architect Gareth Steele in his efforts. He also designed numerous large-scale housing projects in Dessau, Berlin and Karlsruhe. Neutra, Richard is considered to be the most important architect of modernism. He constructed the Jardinette Apartments which are also known as the Marathon Apartments in Hollywood, California. Jardinette apartments are a four story apartment building which is entitled to be one of the first modernist buildings in America. It is also called as the first multi-family, international style building in America. Richard also constructed the Rice House in Richmond, Virginia. This has been listed on the national register of historic places since 1999. It is such a notable place because it is the only house in Richmond that is built in International Style. It is stylized with wood and steel beams, floor to ceiling windows and sliding glass doors. It has characteristic features of international style like balconies, layered flat roofs and exterior railings. Breuer, Marcel was a Hungarian modernist of Jewish descent. He was not only an architect but also a furniture designer which distinguished him from other architects of his era. Breuer constructed the office for UNESCO in Paris and the United States Embassy in Netherlands. His most famous works are the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York and IBM laboratory in France. His endeavors speak for themselves. They show that Breuer was fond of practicality and his works prove that. His buildings were made simple and practical which was the epitome of Bauhaus architecture. The twentieth century also saw a form of architecture called Formalism. Formalism emphasizes form and design. It is more about geometries and shapes in architectures than plain functionalism. Formalism is all about developing visual relationships between the building parts. It focuses on shape and design, lines and geometric shapes are the predominant features of Formalism (Mallgrave, Harry). The architect I.M. Pei is known to be the flag holder of Formalist style of architecture in the 20th century. He was a Chinese born American architect who developed formalism and made it reach the heights that the world saw. Pei designed the Mesa Laboratory for the National Center for Atmospheric Research. He developed great geometries in his design and his idea for the Mesa Laboratory was to make it look as if it was carved out of a mountain. Pei also holds the honor of designing the John F. Kennedy Library which he counts as his greatest commission of his career. The library stands as one of the most beautiful geometric masterpieces the world has seen. Despite its beauty, Pei was unsatisfied. He said that undue criticism and governmental pressure made him construct it not as he really wanted. Despite that it turned out to be such a masterpiece that it is counted in one of the best modernist buildings. With formalism came structuralism. Structuralism is a form of building design where the relationship between elements was sought after. Structuralism was about looking for a system of signs made up of opposites. It also deals with social structures and mental processes that led to the design. Structuralism is based on very complicated and intricate designs. It contains shapes such as honey combs, cubed grids and intersecting planes. Structuralism came into being after World War II in 1945. It has its origins in the Congress International d’ Architecture Moderne. After WWII was over groups of architects had discussions in CIAM (Contandriopoulos, Christina). CIAM saw all kinds of architects, there was Corbusier who saw architecture as pure art and then there were the Rationalists who looked at architecture with a purely scientific approach. They thought of it in terms of heat constraints, expansion risks etc. The simplicity that the modernists brought was somewhat eroded by the structuralists and formalists who emphasized on details and design rather than simplicity and function. The English architects Alison Smithson and Peter Smithson worked tirelessly on the structuralism domain. Amongst their most prominent projects is the Economist building in London and Robin Hood Gardens Housing Complex. The housing complex is located in popular London. It is characterized by long aerial walkways very much like Park Hill estate in Sheffield. In 2008, a campaign was initiated in order to get the Robin Hood Gardens listed as a historical landmark. According to the Building Magazine, which initiated this campaign, this would have saved it from destruction. However, since it is a residential area, this idea invoked much criticism and the English Heritage finally dropped down the proposal. After structuralism, the twentieth century saw the bloom of what is now called Deconstructivism. Deconstructivism is an approach that deals with building design as an attempt to view the whole structure in bits and pieces (Zumthor, Peter). Here, it may be thought that such buildings have no visual logic since deconstructivists see buildings with their basic elements dismantled. Deconstructivistic buildings may appear to be made of many unrelated forms but that is the whole art behind deconstuctivism. This novel concept was introduced by Jacques Derrida who was a French philosopher. Deconstructivism architecture is characterized by fragmentation and non rectilinear shapes. The final building may seem to be very amazingly curved or designed as well as chaotic to some extent. MIT’s Stata Center is a perfect example of deconstructivism and so is the Dancing House in Prague. The HSB Turning Torso is also a deconstructivist skyscraper located in Swedin. It was designed by Calatrava, Santiago who was a Spanish architect. This tower is 190 meters high and contains 54 stories. It is the tallest residential building in the European Union and the tallest building in Scandinavia alone. It is characterized by smooth twists and turns and it is such an overwhelming structure that a similar building featuring a 90 degrees twist is under construction in Dubai with the name of the Infinity Tower. Computers are widely used in architectural design today. Computer aided design has most benefitted deconstructivism since three dimensional modeling and virtual as well as physical animation makes the designing of very complicated structures easier. Some architects who follow deconstructivism use computer aided design and computer aided manufacturing to attain their goal while others like Zaha Hadid prefer using hands for all the sketches despite the complexity. Zaya Hadid is a British Iraqi deconstructivist architect. She formed an architectural design firm of her own in London known as the Zaya Hadid Architects. She works only under the domain of deconstructivism only and that has given her so much of esteem that she was recently ranked amongst the world’s 100 most powerful women according to the Forebest List (Corbusier, Le). In 2010, she also was entitled the influential thinker by the Time Magazine. She designed the Dongdaemun Design Plaza and Park in South Korea. The complex is still under construction and is expected to be ready by 2011. The Design Plaza by Zaha Hadid is expected to house a fashion design information center. It will contain seminar rooms and a lecture hall. In addition, there would also be a multipurpose convention hall and other exhibition halls. It is thought that this will act as a place for international cultural exchange and cooperation. Amongst other prominent deconstructivists were Frank Gehry, Richard Meier and Peter Eisenman. Frank Gehry is one of the century’s most successful architects. He was a Canadian American architect. His buildings including his own residence have long become a source of tourist attractions. Many countries and cities have sought after him in order to make museums, companies and other structures. His best known works include the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Guggenheim Museum, the Experience Music Project, the Weisman Art Museum and lastly his own residence in Santa Monica, California. It was the design of his own residence that gave a start to his career and then there was no looking back for him. Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert hall was a 240 million dollar project which got completed in 2005. He used immense curvatures and reflection techniques in his work. It consists of matte metal and mirrors. The main hall also has an organ’s façade. The Guggenheim Museum by Gehry is one of the most spectacular buildings ever constructed. It is a titanium building whose curves were designed so as to look completely random. Gehry claimed that the random curves were such that they would catch all the light from the sun. The museum was open to the public in 1997 and ever since it was hailed as one of the most magnificent buildings the world had seen under the deconstructivist style. The architect Philip Johnson even called it the greatest building of all times. The museum’s design includes organic contours. It is intended to resemble a ship since it is located in a port town. Its titanium panels thus serve to look like fish scales while the patterns show as fish. Gehry also has to his credit the design of the Weisman Art Museum that is located on the University of Minnesota Twin Cities Campus. It is one of the most prominent landmarks of the campus. The museum has its two faces distinguishably different from one another. From the campus side, it has a brick façade that is kept so as to blend with the existing buildings of the campus so that it does not stand out as a sore thumb. On the opposite side, it is made of stainless steel with curving and angular brushed sheets. This gives an impression of a waterfall and a fish. The museum holds over seventeen thousand collections yet it is known the most for its unique design and feel. Lastly the twentieth century also saw the postmodern architectural form. Until the late 1970s there was no prominent struggle towards postmodernism. Postmodernism brought with it a revival of wit, ornament and reference. The emphasis on functionality as in modernism lost its essence and now the emphasis shifted to aesthetics, styles, curves, colors and ornamentation. Postmodernism architecture brought back the pillars in fashion that went lost during the modernist era. It also improvised the use of pent roofing in buildings. The roofs were no longer straight but bent at an angle from one wall to another. It also brought sculptural forms and ornamentation back in fashion (Curtis, William). The city of Arts and Sciences is a perfect example of postmodernist architecture. It is a cultural and architectural complex in Spain which is undeniably the most important tourist destination in the city of Valencia. It was designed by Santiago Calatrava and Felix Candela and it uses wit, ornamentation, metal and complexity of design to achieve an epitome of beauty and functionality; this is the precise description of postmodernism i.e. all that it is about. To sum it up, the twentieth century has seen some of the most astounding architectural ventures and projects. It has been a century full of architectural brilliance. So many styles and trends have evolved, each one pertaining to a need or a trend thus all of these eras be it modernism or formalism, structuralism or deconstuctivism or even postmodernism reflect the need of their times and the kind of culture and social life that prevails. Postmodernism is yet in effect and it is very certain that it would be overruled by some other architectural form whenever need be. These architectural forms replicate world demand and the mindsets of the people (Hays, Michael). Thus, all these forms are distinguished and cannot be compared to one another. References Gossel, Peter and Lethauser, Gabriele(2001). Architecture in the twentieth century. Taschen. Colquhoun, Alan(2002). Modern Architecture. Oxford University Press. Conrads, Ulrich(1975).Programs and Manifestos on 20th century Architecture. The MIT Press. Hays, Michael(2000). Architecture theory since 1968. The MIT Press. Mallgrave, Harry(2009). Modern Architectural Theory. Cambridge University Press. Mallgrave, Harry and Contandriopoulos, Christina(2008). Architectural Theory volume II. Wiley-Blackwell. Curtis, William(1996). Modern Architecture since 1900. Phaidon Press. Corbusier, Le(2008). Towards a new architecture. BN Publishing. Zumthor, Peter(2006). Thinking Architecture. Birkhauser Architecture. Cadwell, Michael and Tehrani, Nadir(2007). Strange details- Writing architecture. The MIT Press Read More