Lecture 08(1) PDF - Contemporary Architecture

Department of Architectural Engineering HISTORY AND THEORIES OF CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE Late Modernism New Formalism, Metabolism, Archigram & High-Tech | Departmen...

Department of Architectural Engineering HISTORY AND THEORIES OF CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE Late Modernism New Formalism, Metabolism, Archigram & High-Tech | Department of Architectural Engineering | ARCH 366 History and Theories of Contemporary Architecture | 3 Cr H  Department of Architectural Engineering Overview New Formalism Archigram Metabolism High-Tech New Formalism New Formalism developed in the mid- 1950s and continued into the early 1970s. It was a reaction against the rigid formula of the American version of the International Style. Its three main architects - Edward Durrell Stone, Philip Johnson, and Minoru Yamasaki - had all achieved prominence working within the International Style but wanted to try new styles and materials. New Formalism architecture combines decorative elements and established design concepts of classicism with the new materials and technologies incorporated in the International Style. LA Forum by Charles Luckman (1967)  The style was used primarily for high profile cultural, institutional and civic buildings, such as Los Angeles Music Center and the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, the Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, and Edward Durrell Stone's Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. In Southern California, the style was applied mainly to museums, auditoriums, and college campuses. The University of Southern California, the California Institute of Technology, and Harvey Mudd College in Claremont all have significant buildings of the New Formalism style, designed by different architectural firms. Pacific Mercantile Bank (Edward Durell Stone, 1962) Common features of the New Formalism style, which was quite often expensive to build, include: 1. Use of traditionally rich materials, such as travertine, marble, and granite or man-made materials that mimic their luxurious qualities. 2. Buildings usually set on a podium. 3. Designed to achieve modern monumentality. 4. Embraces classical precedents, such as arches, colonnades, classical columns and entablatures. 5. Smooth wall surfaces. 6. Delicacy of details. 7. Formal landscape; use of pools, fountains, sculpture within a central plaza. Edward T. Foley Building, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, Edward Durell Stone, 1962 Beckman Auditorium by Edward Durell Stone, on the Caltech campus in Pasadena, 1964 This building plays on light, form, and pattern to create a modern interpretation of a circular Roman temple. A continuous peristyle (row) of diamond-shaped capitals surrounds the building and culminates in a wide overhanging eave with repeated semicircular cut- outs, allowing for a dramatic shade pattern across the building’s façade. This combination of historic forms and modern materials is emblematic of New Formalism, a style made popular by Durell Stone in the 1960s. The style was particularly well-suited to institutional campuses such as Caltech, as it is modern in its execution but looks to historic precedents in form and pattern, making it a compatible style choice in historic settings. Beckman Auditorium Durell Stone stated: “I try to imbue everything I do with beauty. From its sun-dappled exterior of interlocking shapes to its intimate auditorium, the building is nothing if not beautiful, both inside and out.” New Delhi American Embassy (1954) Edward Durrell Stone's New Delhi American Embassy (1954), which blended the architecture of the east with modern western concepts, is considered to be the start of New Formalism architecture.  New Delhi American Embassy The embassy complex combines the best in South Asian architecture with Western concepts. The design of the American Embassy in New Delhi recalls at once the finest edifices (structures) in Indian architecture with its use of concrete sunscreens and symbolizes the might and power of the United States. New Delhi American Embassy New Delhi American Embassy Gallery of Modern Art (2 Columbus Circle), Edward Durell Stone, 1964 Located on a small and irregular shaped island at Columbus Circle, one of the busiest intersections in Manhattan, lies 2 Columbus Circle, formerly known as the Gallery of Modern Art. Famously described as a “die- cut Venetian palazzo on lollipops” by Ada Louise Huxtable, the New York Times architecture critic at the time. Gallery of Modern Art (2 Columbus Circle) It began in 1956 when George Huntington Hartford II purchased the small lot, surrounded by streets on all sides, with the intention of establishing the Gallery of Modern Art. The gallery would primarily house his own personal collection of 19th and 20th Century art that opposed abstract expressionism, which he considered to be Communist. After mulling over various architects to commission the project to, Hartford eventually chose Stone, with whom he shared many similar philosophies that would guide the design process. Like Hartford, who wished to challenge Modernist ideals, Stone was beginning to dislike the stark glass and metal buildings that were mainstream. Both men heavily valued democratic values, and wanted to make modern design more palatable to the public, to bridge the widening gap between the middle-class and the cultural elite. Gallery of Modern Art (2 Columbus Circle) The 10-story poured concrete structure has been a source of consistent controversy and public response since the 1960s. Designed by Edward Durell Stone, an early proponent of American modern architecture, 2 Columbus Circle represents a turning point in his career. Uncharacteristic of Stone’s prior work, his use of ornament on an otherwise modern structure can be seen as an important precedent of the development of the soon-to-emerge Postmodern movement. The striking exterior, which features a concave north facade to respond to the curve of Columbus Circle, is sheathed with a 2” veneer of gray-veined, white Vermont Imperial Dandy marble. The square marble panels were perforated at the edges of each facade, as well as above the loggia, to create 1472 small and circular bronze-plated windows. Gallery of Modern Art (2 Columbus Circle) Considering the inconsistent site and facade dimensions, Edward Stone considered the use of a ground-floor arcade to be essential to the project. The stylized Venetian Gothic columns inset with Swedish red rose granite ovals, established an articulate perimeter at the building at street level, helping to conceal the varying widths of the building. During a pivotal time in the evolution of 20th Century architecture, the Gallery of Modern Art demonstrated a high degree of artistic freedom, further illuminating an already existing tension between devoted Modernists and those who questioned the ideals of the movement. Edward Durell Stone’s design acts as a very early example of a project that challenged the established ideals and rules of Modernism. Gallery of Modern Art (2 Columbus Circle) What do you think about this shift in Modernism Principles? Archigram Archigram Archigram was an avant-garde architectural group formed in the 1960s - based at the Architectural Association, London - that was neofuturistic, anti-heroic and pro-consumerist, drawing inspiration from technology in order to create a new reality that was solely expressed through hypothetical projects. The main members of the group were Peter Cook, Warren Chalk, Ron Herron, Dennis Crompton, Michael Webb and David Greene. Designer Theo Crosby was the "hidden hand" behind the group. He gave them coverage in Architectural Design magazine (where he was an editor from 1953–62), brought them to the attention of the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London, where, in 1963, they mounted an exhibition called Living Cities, and in 1964 brought them into the Taylor Woodrow Design Group, which he headed, to take on experimental projects.  Archigram The pamphlet Archigram I was printed in 1961 to proclaim their ideas. Committed to a 'high tech', light weight, infra-structural approach that was focused towards survival technology, the group experimented with modular technology, mobility through the environment, space capsules and mass-consumer imagery. Their works offered a seductive vision of a glamorous future machine age; however, social and environmental issues were left unaddressed. The group was financially supported by mainstream architects, such as David Rock. Rock later nominated Archigram for the RIBA Royal Gold Medal which they received in 2002. Archigram The works of Archigram served as a source of inspiration for later works such as the High tech 'Pompidou centre' 1971 by Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano, early Norman Foster works, Gianfranco Franchini and Future Systems. By the early 1970s the strategy of the group had changed. In 1973 Theo Crosby wrote that its members had "found their original impulses towards megastructures blunted by the changing intellectual climate in England, where the brash dreams of modern architects are received with ever-increasing horror. They are now more concerned with the infiltration of technology into the environment at a much less obvious level". Plug-in-City, Peter Cook, 1964 Plug-in-City is a mega-structure with no buildings, just a massive framework into which dwellings in the form of cells or standardized components could be slotted. The machine had taken over and people were the raw material being processed, the difference being that people are meant to enjoy the experience. Plug-in-City, Peter Cook, 1964 Plug-in City is one of many vast, visionary creations produced in the 1960s by the radical collaborative British architecture group Archigram. A “megastructure” that incorporates residences, access routes, and essential services for the inhabitants, Plug-in City was designed to encourage change through obsolescence: each building outcrop is removable, and a permanent “craneway” facilitates continual rebuilding. Between 1960 and 1974, Archigram published nine provocative issues of its magazine and created more than nine hundred exuberant drawings illustrating imaginary architectural projects ranging in inspiration from technological developments to counterculture, from space travel to science fiction. Plug-in-City, Peter Cook, 1964 The Walking City, Ron Herron, 1964 The Walking City is constituted by intelligent buildings or robots that are in the form of giant, self- contained living pods that could roam the cities. The form derived from a combination of insect and machine and was a literal interpretation of le-Corbusier's aphorism of a house as a machine for living in. The Walking City The pods were independent, yet parasitic as they could 'plug into' way stations to exchange occupants or replenish resources. The citizen is therefore a serviced nomad not totally dissimilar from today's executive cars. The Walking City The context was perceived as a future ruined world in the aftermath of a nuclear war. What do you think?? Metabolism Japanese Metabolism* Movement: When: 1960 – 1970s The word metabolism describes the Where: The urban design philosophy and ideas of metabolism were process of maintaining living cells. presented at the 1960 World Design Conference in Tokyo. Young Japanese architects after World War II used this word to Why: The origins of the movement date back to 1946, post World War II describe their beliefs about how Japan, when Kenzo Tange established the Tange Research Laboratory at buildings and cities should be Tokyo University. designed, emulating a living being. Urban reconstruction of Japanese cities destroyed during WWII was the problem to be solved. Tange's Japanese students challenged the Western ideas of static urban planning. Who: Fumihiko Maki, Masato Otaka, Kiyonari Kikutake, and Kisho Kurokawa. Other students and associates of Kenzo Tange, such as Arata Isozaki, are also associated with the movement. Characteristics: organic urban design and reconstruction, recycling, organic growth and change, prefabrication, expansion and contraction based on need, megastructure infrastructure (core), attachable/detachable substructure, replaceable units (cells or pods). * Metabolism is the set of life-sustaining chemical transformations within the cells of living organisms. Nakagin Capsule Building (Hotel), Tokyo, Japan, 1972 , designed by Kisho Kurokawa Kurokawa developed the technology to install the capsule units into a concrete core with only 4 high-tension bolts, as well as making the units detachable and replaceable. The capsule is designed to accommodate the individual as either an apartment or studio space, and by connecting units can also accommodate a family. Complete with appliances and furniture, from audio system to telephone, the capsule interior is pre-assembled in a factory off-site. The interior is then lifted by crane and fastened to the concrete core shaft. The Nakagin Capsule Tower realizes the ideas of metabolism, exchangeability, recycleablity as the prototype of metabolism architecture. Nakagin Capsule Building Nakagin Capsule Building Nakagin Capsule Building Nakagin Capsule Building High-Tech High-tech architecture High-tech architecture emerged in the 1970s. The term was first coined in a book: High Tech: The Industrial Style and Source Book for The Home, by Joan Kron and Suzanne Slesin, in which the architectural style is characterized by a "nuts-and- bolts, exposed-pipes, technological look". Science and technology were having a major impact on society - the memory of the Apollo moon landings was still fresh - and there was a feeling that with the right technology anything was possible. Architecture, too, was having its techno moment, as traditional construction gave way to space frames with metal and glass cladding, and extensive use of factory- produced materials and components. High-tech brought a refreshing new face to modern architecture, which was becoming increasingly associated with brutalist slabs encased in grimy concrete. High-tech buildings are often called machine-like. Steel, aluminum, and glass combine with brightly colored braces, girders, and beams. Many of the building parts are prefabricated in a factory and assembled on site. The support beams, duct work, and other functional elements are placed on the exterior of the building, where they become the focus of attention. The interior spaces are open and adaptable for many uses. High-tech architecture High Tech was a development in British Modernist architecture from the late 1960s. It was a concept of design, based on engineering, construction and other aspects, such as the operation of space. Also known as 'late modernism' or 'structural expressionism', High-tech often seen as being the link between modernism and postmodernism. Developed out of modernism, high-tech attached importance to the object itself rather than the object being a functional use of space. High Tech buildings are characterised by exposed structures (usually of steel and or other metals), with services (pipes, air ducts, lifts etc.) often picked out in bright colours, a smooth, impervious skin (often of glass) and a flexibility to create internal service zones, rather than rooms or sequences of rooms. Some of the most well-known architects identified with the high-tech style are Norman Foster, Richard Rogers, Renzo Piano, Michael Hopkins, and Jean Nouvel. The Centre Pompidou (1977) in Paris is a High-tech building by Richard Rogers, Renzo Piano, and Gianfranco Franchini. Georges Pompidou, President of France from 1969 to 1974, who wanted to construct a cultural center in Paris that would attract visitors and be a monumental aspect of the city. The Centre Pompidou appears to be turned inside out, revealing its inner workings on the exterior facade. The pioneers of this style - Rogers and Piano, Norman Foster, Michael Hopkins - created The steel structure from which the an architectural language that, by externalizing its technical elements and allowing floors are suspended is visible them to create the building's facade, gave modernism a new lease on life when it most from the outside, as are the giant needed it. external escalators, and the service ducts - color-coded.  The Centre Pompidou The concept of design was exposing all of the infrastructure of the building. The skeleton itself engulfs the building from its exterior, showing all of the different mechanical and structure systems not only so that they could be understood but also to maximize the interior space without interruptions. The Centre Pompidou The Centre Pompidou One of the "movement" elements that the center is most known for is the escalator (painted red on the bottom) on the west facade, a tube that zigzags up to the top of the building providing visitors with an astonishing view of the city of Paris. The Centre Pompidou The Centre Pompidou The interior spaces are open and adaptable for many uses. Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank (HSBC Bank),. Hong Kong, China, 1979 to 1986 , designed by Norman Foster Conceived during a sensitive period in the former colony's history, the brief for the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank Headquarters was a statement of confidence: to create 'the best bank building in the world'. Through a process of questioning and challenging the project addressed the nature of banking in Hong Kong and how it should be expressed in built form. In doing so it virtually reinvented the office tower. The requirement to build in excess of a million square feet in a short timescale suggested a high degree of prefabrication, including factory-finished modules, while the need to build downwards and upwards simultaneously led to the adoption of a suspension structure, with pairs of steel masts arranged in three bays. Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank As a result, the building form is articulated in a stepped profile of three individual towers, respectively twenty-nine, thirty-six and forty-four storeys high, which create floors of varying width and depth and allow for garden terraces. The mast structure allowed another radical move, pushing the service cores to the perimeter to create deep-plan floors around a ten-storey atrium. Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank,. Hong Kong,China, 1979 to 1986 , designed by Norman Foster Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank (HSBC Bank) The 'bridges' that span between the masts define double- height reception areas that break down the scale of the building both visually and socially. A unique system of movement through the building combines high-speed lifts to the reception spaces with escalators beyond, reflecting village-like clusters of office floors. From the outset, the Bank placed a high priority on flexibility. Interestingly, over the years, it has been able to reconfigure office layouts with ease, even incorporating a large dealers' room into one floor − a move that could not have been anticipated when the building was designed.  Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank A mirrored 'sunscoop' reflects sunlight down through the atrium to the floor of a public plaza below - a sheltered space, which at weekends has become a lively picnic spot. Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank From the plaza, escalators rise up through the glass underbelly to the banking hall, which was conceived as a 'shop window for banking'.  What do you think about this High-Tech trend in Modernism? Renault Distribution Center | High-tech Architecture by Foster Associates https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/architectural-styles/a4707-an-overview-of-high-tech-architecture/