Conditions of Postmodern Architecture

Conditions of Postmodern Architecture

• Postmodernism is a cultural movement reacting to modernism, emphasizing diversity and rejecting universal truths.
• Postmodernity refers to the socio-economic and cultural conditions of the post-industrial era.
• Post-modern describes a transitional phase blending modernist and postmodernist ideas.
• Five aspects of postmodernity: disconnection from grand narratives, erosion of boundaries between high and low culture, rise of consumer-driven economies, proliferation of media and images, and fragmentation and plurality in cultural expressions.
• Postmodernism's general conditions in art and architecture include: rejection of modernism's rigid formalism, emphasis on eclecticism, symbolism, and contextualism, and the use of parody and irony.
• Modernism in architecture is characterized by functionalism, minimalism, and universality. Postmodernism features ornamentation, symbolism, and historical references.
• Jameson uses images of modernist abstraction (e.g., Mondrian) versus postmodern pastiche and spectacle (e.g., Las Vegas) to contrast Modernism and Postmodernism.
• Byker Wall demonstrates contextualism and user-centered design within postmodern architecture.
• Disney architecture exemplifies the erosion of high and low culture in postmodernism, blending high-art principles with popular culture.
• New social and economic organizations in postmodernity include multinational corporations, global markets, and service economies.
• Postmodernism's origin, according to Charles Jencks, stems from dissatisfaction with modernism's failures and the rise of pluralism in architectural theory.
• The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao exemplifies the image's importance in architecture, functioning as a cultural and economic driver.
• Criticism of modernism's sterility and lack of human scale led to more context-sensitive and expressive designs in postmodern approaches.
• Examples of parody, collage, and context in architecture include the AT&T Building by Philip Johnson.

Distinguishing Revivalism and Eclecticism

• Revivalism involves re-creating historical styles.
• Eclecticism combines multiple styles creatively.

Duck vs. Decorated Shed

• The Duck building form communicates purpose.
• The Decorated Shed has a simple form with applied symbolism.

Univalent vs. Multivalent Architecture

• Univalent architecture has a singular meaning.
• Multivalent architecture has multiple layers of meaning and interpretation.

Media-Driven Architecture

• Buildings are designed with visual media in mind, emphasizing spectacle and branding (e.g., Times Square buildings).

Impact of Computer-Based Production

• Computer-based production enables complex geometries, parametric design, and rapid prototyping.

Meta-Narratives, Loss of Real, and Global Economy

• Meta-narratives are large unifying stories or ideologies.
• Loss of real refers to hyperreality replacing reality.
• Global economy represents increased interdependence of worldwide markets.

Architectural Communication

• Semantics focuses on meanings in forms (e.g., a dome symbolizing authority).
• Syntax refers to relationships between forms, such as spatial arrangements.
• Syntagmatic relationships are sequential, while associative relations are contextual or culturally linked.
• Signifiers are forms or symbols (like a column), and signifieds are meanings (like support or stability).
• Icons are based on resemblance, symbols are culturally agreed upon, and indexes demonstrate cause-and-effect.

Adding Icons/Symbols to Buildings

• Ornamentation, signage, or materiality (e.g., cultural motifs) are used to incorporate icons/symbols.

Structuralism's Basic Concepts

• Structuralism focuses on underlying universal structures within cultural phenomena, exemplified by spatial grids in architecture.

Contributions of Structuralism

• Structuralism emphasizes typologies and relational logic in architecture.

Structuralism and Individuals/Cultures

• Structuralism interprets how space reflects societal values.
• It differentiates surface and deep levels of meaning (e.g., façade aesthetics vs. symbolic or functional meanings).

Deconstruction

• Challenges established norms by embracing fragmentation and reinterpretation.
• Derrida's structures in architecture include presence, hierarchy, binary oppositions, and metaphysics.

Binary Oppositions

• These include examples like public vs. private spaces.

Context Providing Meaning

• Local materials and vernacular architecture significantly enrich design meaning.

Deconstructivist Architecture

• Fragmented forms and unconventional geometries are examples, similar to Gehry’s Guggenheim Bilbao.

MoMA Exhibition 1988

• This exhibition popularized Deconstructivist architecture (Gehry, Eisenman, Hadid).

Eisenman and Tschumi's Interaction

• They explored deconstructivist concepts in projects like Parc de la Villette.

Complexity and Contradiction

• "Contradiction adapted" involves subtle integration (e.g., Venturi's house), while "Contradiction juxtaposed" uses bold contrasts.
• Blatant simplification leads to unengaging design.

"Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture"

• This work advocates for embracing ambiguity and layered meanings.
• Both-And Architecture examples show simultaneous duality, such as the Villa Savoye.

Room for Fragment and Improvisation

• Architecture as a dynamic and evolving form, rather than a perfect one.

Postmodern Architecture vs. Late Modernism

• Postmodern architecture gains richness from historic and contextual connections.

Critical Regionalism

• It focuses on context-specific designs versus homogenized aesthetics.

World Culture

• Shared global influences transcend local traditions in architecture.

Vernacular Architecture

• Local building traditions reflect cultural identity.

Architecture Without Architects

• Paul Oliver's term for indigenous and vernacular structures.

Critical Regionalism

• Combines modern techniques with local identity.

Kenneth Frampton's 7 Attitudes

• Sensitivity to topography, climate, and tactile materials.

Example of Local and Universal Synthesis

• Louis Kahn's National Assembly Building in Dhaka.

Pure Techniques and Scenography

• Pure techniques focus on functional integrity.
• Scenography emphasizes visual storytelling.

Jorn Utzon's Bagsvaerd Church

• Combines universal modernity with Nordic cultural forms.

Phenomenology in Architecture

• Explores human experiences and meanings in spaces.
• Addresses how experience and meaning change within different spaces.

Key Phenomenology Concepts

• Concepts like genius loci, dwelling, and phenomena are key.

Structural Properties of Existential Space

• Root structure is related to cultural and physical human conditions.

Phenomenology's Relationship with Theories

• Phenomenology counterbalances abstraction with an experiential focus.

The Temple Acts to Gather the Landscape

• Architecture integrates with its environment.

Important Coding Concepts

• Single coding: One clear meaning or function within a design.
• Dual coding: Two layers of meaning (e.g., aesthetic and functional).
• Multiple coding: Diverse interpretations, creating complex depth.

Eclecticism, Revivalism, Pastiche, Parody

• Eclecticism mixes styles from different eras or regions within one design.
• Revivalism is a return to historical styles.
• Pastiche imitates or blends styles without deep critique.
• Parody provides a humorous or ironic reinterpretation.

Empiricism and Rationalism

• Empiricism derives knowledge from sensory experience.
• Rationalism focuses on reason and logic in design.

Global Economy

• This refers to interconnected markets, influencing materials and production methods in architecture.

Idealism

• Emphasizes ideas and concepts over material reality in architectural design concepts.

Loss of Artistic Minority

• Concerns where unique artistic efforts can be overshadowed by generic trends.

Loss of Real

• A concept from Baudrillard where simulations and images replace authentic experiences within architectural narratives.

Meta-Narratives

• These are overarching universal stories underlying ideologies (such as modernism’s belief in progress).

Modes of Production vs. Modes of Consumption

• Understanding production and consumption is crucial for understanding architectural spaces, reflecting economic and cultural systems and how people use architecture, strongly affected by consumer culture.

Multivalent and Univalent Architecture

• Multivalent architecture allows multiple interpretations, unlike Univalent architecture which has a single focused meaning.

Paradigm, Style, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

• Paradigm represents dominant ideas in a particular architectural era, such as modernism or postmodernism.
• Style describes characteristic patterns, tied to a time period (e.g. Gothic Baroque.).
• MoMA played a role in promoting modernist and deconstructivist architecture.

Synchronic and Diachronic

• These terms discuss studying architecture at different times, either in a specific point in time (synchronic) or across time periods (diachronic).

Jacques Derrida, Charles Jencks, Christian Norberg-Schulz, Martin Heidegger

• Philosophers and theorists focused on philosophical and phenomenological architecture with work including, but not limited to, fragmentation, non-hierarchical designs and other areas.