THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE

SUBMITTED BY-
GARIMA GUPTA
III- YR
ROLL NO- 14
Modern architecture
INTRODUCTION
 MODERN ARCHITECTURE IS A TERM APPLIED TO A PERIOD IN
ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY DURING THE 20TH CENTURY.
 MODERN ARCHITECTURE BEGAN WITH ADVANCEMENT AND THE
MODERNIZATION OF EFFORTS TO RECONCILE THE PRINCIPLES
UNDERLYING ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN WITH RAPID TECHNOLOGICAL
SOCIETY.
MODERNISM IS BROADLY CHARACTERIZED BY SIMPLIFICATION OF
FORM AND SUBTRACTION OF ORNAMENTATION FROM THE STRUCTURE
AND THEME OF THE BUILDING.

SALK INSTITUTE BY LOUIS KAHN MODERN ARCHITECTURE,EMERGED IN MANY WESTERN COUNTRIES

IBM PLAZA BY MIES VAN DER ROHE
SEAGRAM BUILDING BY MIES VAN DER ROHE
EVOLUTION OF THE STYLE
INCREASINGLY, DURING THE 1950s, MODERN ARCHITECTURE
WAS CRITICIZED FOR ITS STERILITY, ITS "INSTITUTIONAL"
ANONYMITY, AND ITS DISREGARD FOR REGIONAL BUILDING
TRADITIONS.
MORE VARIED MODES OF EXPRESSION WERE SOUGHT BY
ARCHITECTS OF THE NEXT GENERATION, ALTHOUGH THE BASIC
EMPHASIS ON STRUCTURE AND MATERIALS CONTINUED.
THIS TENDENCY WAS EVIDENT IN THE WORKS OF LOUIS KAHN,
EDWARD DURELL STONE, AND PHILIP CORTELYOU JOHNSON IN
THE UNITED STATES, AND THE ARCHITECTS OF THE SO-CALLED
NEW BRUTALISM MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND.
A DYNAMIC SCULPTURAL UNITY DISTINGUISHED THE BUILDINGS
OF EERO SAARINEN AND THE LATE WORKS OF LE CORBUSIER.
IN THE DECADE AFTER WORLD WAR I. IT WAS BASED ON THE
"RATIONAL" USE OF MODERN MATERIALS, THE PRINCIPLES OF
FUNCTIONALIST PLANNING, AND THE REJECTION OF HISTORICAL
PRECEDENT AND ORNAMENT.
CHARACTERISTICS
•THE NOTION THAT "FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION", MEANING THAT THE
RESULT OF DESIGN SHOULD DERIVE DIRECTLY FROM ITS PURPOSE
•SIMPLICITY AND CLARITY OF FORMS AND ELIMINATION OF
"UNNECESSARY DETAIL"
•MATERIALS AT 90 DEGREES TO EACH OTHER
•VISUAL EXPRESSION OF STRUCTURE (AS OPPOSED TO THE HIDING
OF STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS.
•THE RELATED CONCEPT OF "TRUTH TO MATERIALS", MEANING THAT
THE TRUE NATURE OR NATURAL APPEARANCE OF A MATERIAL OUGHT
TO BE SEEN.
•USE OF INDUSTRIALLY-PRODUCED MATERIALS.
•A VISUAL EMPHASIS ON HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL LINES.
•USE OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND NEW MATERIALS.
•IMPLEMENTATION OF ―SKIN AND BONE ARCHITECTURE‖.
•MINIMUM WASTAGE OF MATERIALS, MATERIALS GENERALY CONSISTS
OF GLASS AND STEEL.
•FULLY UTILIZATION OF SPACES EXTERNALLY AND INTERNALLY.

ST. JOHN’S ABBEY CHURCH BY MARCEL BREUER BAUHAUS BUILDING BY WALTER GROPIUS
LE CORBUSIER
INTRODUCTION
CHARLES-ÉDOUARD JEANNERET-GRIS, BETTER KNOWN AS LE CORBUSIER (OCTOBER 6, 1887 –
AUGUST 27, 1965), WAS AN ARCHITECT, DESIGNER, PAINTER, URBAN PLANNER, WRITER, AND ONE
OF THE PIONEERS OF WHAT IS NOW CALLED MODERN ARCHITECTURE.

HE WAS BORN IN SWITZERLAND AND BECAME A FRENCH CITIZEN IN 1930.

HIS CAREER SPANNED FIVE DECADES, WITH HIS BUILDINGS CONSTRUCTED THROUGHOUT
EUROPE, INDIA, AND AMERICA.

HE WAS A PIONEER IN STUDIES OF MODERN HIGH DESIGN AND WAS DEDICATED TO PROVIDING
BETTER LIVING CONDITIONS FOR THE RESIDENTS OF CROWDED CITIES.

HE WAS AWARDED THE FRANK P. BROWN MEDAL AND AIA GOLD MEDAL IN 1961.

LE CORBUSIER ADOPTED HIS PSEUDONYM IN THE 1920S, ALLEGEDLY DERIVING IT IN PART FROM
THE NAME OF AN ANCESTOR, LECORBÉSIER.
LE CORBUSIER (OCTOBER 6, 1887 – AUGUST 27,
1965),
STYLE OF ARCHITECTURE
MECHANICAL ANALOGY
LINGUISTIC ANALOGY
FIVE POINTS OF ARCHITECTURE

– USE OF PILOTIS I.E. REINFORCED CONCRETE STILTS.

– FREE FAÇADE I.E NON-SUPPORTING WALLS THAT COULD BE
DESIGNED AS THE ARCHITECT WISHED.
FREE FAÇADE AND LONG RIBBON ROOF GARDENS
WINDOWS IN VILLA SAVOYE – OPEN FLOOR PLAN , MEANING THAT THE FLOOR SPACE WAS FREE TO
BE CONFIGURED INTO ROOMS WITHOUT CONCERN FOR SUPPORTING
WALLS.
– LONG HORIZONTAL RIBBON WINDOWS THAT ALLOW UNENCUMBERED
VIEWS OF THE LARGE SURROUNDING.
– ROOF GARDEN TO COMPENSATE FOR THE GREEN AREA CONSUMED
BY THE BUILDING AND REPLACING IT ON THE ROOF.

PILOTIS IN CORBUSIER‘S
BUILDINGS
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LE CORBUSIER CHRONOLOGY OF CORBUSIER
 CHARLES-ÉDOUARD JEANNERET-GRIS AKA LE
INFLUENCES ON CORBUSIER CORBUSIER WAS A SWISS-BORN FRENCH ARCHITECT.

LE CORBUSIER WAS AT HIS MOST INFLUENTIAL IN THE SPHERE OF URBAN  1907 – WORKED UNDER AUGUSTE PERRETE AT PARIS.
PLANNING, ONE OF THE FIRST TO REALIZE HOW THE AUTOMOBILE WOULD
CHANGE HUMAN AGGLOMERATIONS, LE CORBUSIER DESCRIBED THE CITY OF  1908 – STUDIED ARCHITECTURE AT VIENNA.
THE FUTURE AS CONSISTING OF LARGE APARTMENT BUILDINGS ISOLATED IN A  DURING WORLD WAR I HE CAME UP WITH DOMINO
PARK-LIKE SETTING ON PILOTIS. HOUSE.
FOR THE DESIGN OF THE BUILDINGS, LE CORBUSIER CRITICIZED ANY EFFORT  1918 – 1922 - DEVELOPED PURIST PAINTING WITH
AT ORNAMENTATION. OZENFANT.

HE CREATED BETTER LIVING CONDITIONS AND A BETTER SOCIETY THROUGH  PARTNERING WITH HIS COUSIN, THEY MADE A SERIES
HOUSING CONCEPTS. OF VILLAS.

 HE VIEWED HOUSE AS ―A MACHINE FOR LIVING IN‖.

LE CORBUSIER HARMONIZED AND LENT CREDENCE TO THE IDEA OF SPACE AS
A SET OF DESTINATIONS WHICH MANKIND MOVED BETWEEN, MORE OR LESS  DELVED INTO CITY PLANNING AND DESIGNED
CONTINUOUSLY. CHANDIGARH.

LE CORBUSIER‘S IDEAS SANCTIONED FURTHER DESTRUCTION OF  DIED WHILE SWIMMING IN MEDITERRENEAN SEA ON
TRADITIONAL URBAN SPACES TO BUILD FREEWAYS THAT CONNECTED THIS 1965.
NEW URBANISM TO LOW DENSITY, LOW COST, SUBURBAN AND RURAL LOCALES
WHICH WERE FREE TO BE DEVELOPED AS MIDDLE CLASS SINGLE-FAMILY
(DORMITORY) HOUSING.

SOME FAMOUS WORKS

GUSTAVO CAPANEMA PALACE, CHAPELLE NOTRE DAME DU ASSEMBLY BUILDING, CHANDIGARH, SECRETARIAT BUILDING, CHURCH OF SAINT-PIERRE,
RIO DE JANEIRO (BRAZIL) HAUT, RONCHAMP, FRANCE INDIA CHANDIGARH, INDIA FIRMINY, FRANCE

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LE CORBUSIER
VILLA SAVOYE

VILLA SAVOYE IS A MODERNIST VILLA IN POISSY, IN THE OUTSKIRTS OF

PARIS, FRANCE.
LOCATION MAP OF VILLA SAVOYE
IT WAS DESIGNED BY SWISS ARCHITECTS LE CORBUSIER AND HIS
TYPE VILLA COUSIN, PIERRE JEANNERET, AND BUILT BETWEEN 1928 AND 1931 USING
REINFORCED CONCRETE.
MODERNIST,
ARCHITECTURAL STYLE
INTERNATIONAL A MANIFESTO OF LE CORBUSIER'S "FIVE POINTS" OF NEW
ARCHITECTURE, THE VILLA IS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE BASES OF
TOWN OR CITY POISSY, YVELINES
MODERN ARCHITECTURE.
COUNTRY FRANCE
THE HOUSE WAS ORIGINALLY BUILT AS A COUNTRY RETREAT ON BEHEST
CONSTRUCTION STARTED 1928 OF THE SAVOYE FAMILY.
COMPLETED 1931
DURING WORLD WAR II THE JEWISH SAVOYE FAMILY WAS SENT TO
RENOVATED 1963, 1985-1997 CONCENTRATION CAMPS BY THE NAZIS WHO TOOK OVER THE HOUSE
AND USED IT FOR STORAGE.
OWNER FRENCH GOVERNMENT
AFTER BEING PURCHASED BY THE NEIGHBOURING SCHOOL IT PASSED
TECHNICAL DETAILS
ON TO BE PROPERTY OF THE FRENCH STATE IN 1958, AND AFTER
STRUCTURAL SYSTEM REINFORCED CONCRETE SURVIVING SEVERAL PLANS OF DEMOLITION, IT WAS DESIGNATED AS AN
OFFICIAL FRENCH HISTORICAL MONUMENT IN 1965
DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
IT WAS THOROUGHLY RENOVATED FROM 1985 TO 1997, AND UNDER THE
LE CORBUSIER, PIERRE
ARCHITECT CARE OF THE CENTRE DES MONUMENTS NATIONAUX, THE REFURBISHED
JEANNERET
HOUSE IS NOW OPEN TO VISITORS YEAR-ROUND.

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LE CORBUSIER
VILLA SAVOYE
Construction
Estimates of the cost in February 1929 were
approximately half a million Francs, although this
excluded the cost of the lodge and the landscaping
elements (almost twice the original budget).

The project was tendered in February with

contracts awarded in March 1929.

Changes made to the design whilst the project was

being built including an amendment to the storey
height and the exclusion and then re-introduction of
the chauffeur's accommodation led to the costs
rising to approximately 800,000 Francs.

At the time the project started on site no design

work had been done on the lodge and the final
design was only presented to the client in June
1929.

The design was for a double lodge but this was

reduced to a single lodge as the costs were too
GROUND AND FIRST FLOOR PLAN OF VILLA SAVOYE
high.
Although construction of the whole house was
complete within a year it was not habitable until
1931.

SECTION THROUGH VILLA SAVOYE

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LE CORBUSIER
THE REINFORCED CONCRETE GIVES US THE
PILOTIS. THE HOUSE IS UP IN THE AIR, FAR
FROM THE GROUND.
THE COLUMNS SET BACK FROM THE FACADES,
INSIDE THE HOUSE. THE FLOOR CONTINUES
CANTILEVERED.
THE FACADES ARE NO LONGER ANYTHING BUT
LIGHT SKINS OF INSULATING WALLS OR
WINDOWS. THE FACADE IS FREE.
VILLA SAVOYE
DESIGN FEATURES
UNTIL NOW LOAD-BEARING WALLS FORMING
THE GROUND FLOOR AND THE UPPER
STORIES, UP TO EAVES.
REINFORCED CONCRETE IN THE HOUSE
PROVIDES A FREE PLAN.
THE GARDEN IS ALSO OVER THE
HOUSE, ON THE ROOF
THE WINDOW IS ONE OF THE ESSENTIAL
FEATURES OF THE HOUSE.
REINFORCED CONCRETE PROVIDES A
REVOLUTION IN THE HISTORY OF THE
WINDOW.
THE STAIRCASE AND THE RAMP IN THE
HOUSE WINDOWS CAN RUN FROM ONE END OF THE
FACADE TO THE OTHER.
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LE CORBUSIER
VILLA SAVOYE
DESIGN FEATURES

THE PLAN WAS SET OUT USING THE PRINCIPLE RATIOS OF THE
GOLDEN SECTION: IN THIS CASE A SQUARE DIVIDED INTO SIXTEEN
EQUAL PARTS, EXTENDED ON TWO SIDES TO INCORPORATE THE
PROJECTING FAÇADES AND THEN FURTHER DIVIDED TO GIVE THE
POSITION OF THE RAMP AND THE ENTRANCE.
THE HOUSE, DESIGNED AS A SECOND RESIDENCE AND SITED AS IT
WAS OUTSIDE PARIS WAS DESIGNED WITH THE CAR IN MIND.
THE FOUR COLUMNS IN THE ENTRANCE HALL SEEMINGLY DIRECT
THE VISITOR UP THE RAMP. THIS RAMP, THAT CAN BE SEEN FROM
ALMOST EVERYWHERE IN THE HOUSE CONTINUES UP TO THE FIRST
FLOOR LIVING AREA AND SALON BEFORE CONTINUING EXTERNALLY
FROM THE FIRST FLOOR ROOF TERRACE UP TO THE SECOND FLOOR
SOLARIUM.

CORBUSIER'S PILOTI PERFORM A NUMBER OF FUNCTIONS AROUND

THE HOUSE, BOTH INSIDE AND OUT. ON THE TWO LONGER
ELEVATIONS THEY ARE FLUSH WITH THE FACE OF THE FAÇADE AND
IMPLY HEAVINESS AND SUPPORT, BUT ON THE SHORTER SIDES THEY
ARE SET BACK GIVING A FLOATING EFFECT THAT EMPHASISES THE
HORIZONTAL FEELING OF THE HOUSE.
THE WIDE STRIP WINDOW TO THE FIRST FLOOR TERRACE HAS TWO
BABY PILOTI TO SUPPORT AND STIFFEN THE WALL ABOVE.
THE VILLA SAVOYE USES THE HORIZONTAL RIBBON WINDOWS
FOUND IN HIS EARLIER VILLAS. UNLIKE HIS CONTEMPORARIES,
CORBUSIER OFTEN CHOSE TO USE TIMBER WINDOWS RATHER THAN
METAL ONES.

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LE CORBUSIER
UN HEADQUARTERS
THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE UNITED NATIONS IS A COMPLEX IN NEW
YORK CITY.
THE COMPLEX HAS SERVED AS THE OFFICIAL HEADQUARTERS OF THE
UNITED NATIONS SINCE ITS COMPLETION IN 1952. IT IS LOCATED IN THE
TURTLE BAY NEIGHBORHOOD OF THE BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN, ON
SPACIOUS GROUNDS OVERLOOKING THE EAST RIVER.

THE UNITED NATIONS HAS THREE ADDITIONAL, SUBSIDIARY, REGIONAL

THE UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS IN NEW YORK CITY, AS VIEWED
FROM THE EAST RIVER IN MAY 2006
ARCHITECTURAL STYLE
LOCATION
CONSTRUCTION STARTED
HEADQUARTERS OR HEADQUARTER DISTRICTS.
ALTHOUGH IT IS SITUATED IN NEW YORK CITY, THE LAND OCCUPIED BY
THE UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS AND THE SPACES OF
BUILDINGS THAT IT RENTS ARE UNDER THE SOLE ADMINISTRATION OF
THE UNITED NATIONS.
THEY ARE TECHNICALLY EXTRATERRITORIAL THROUGH A TREATY
INTERNATIONAL STYLE AGREEMENT WITH THE U.S. GOVERNMENT. HOWEVER, IN EXCHANGE
FOR LOCAL POLICE AND FIRE PROTECTION AND OTHER SERVICES, THE
NEW YORK CITY
U.N. AGREES TO ACKNOWLEDGE MOST LOCAL, STATE, AND FEDERAL
1948 (1948) LAWS.

COMPLETED 9 OCTOBER 1952 (1952-10-09)

THE UNITED NATIONS
COST $65,000,000
HEADQUARTERS COMPLEX WAS
OWNER UNITED NATIONS CONSTRUCTED IN STAGES WITH THE
HEIGHT 155 METRES (509 FT) CORE COMPLEX COMPLETED
TECHNICAL DETAILS BETWEEN 1948-1952.
THE HEADQUARTERS OCCUPIES A
FLOOR COUNT 39 SITE BESIDE THE EAST RIVER, ON 17
DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION ACRES (69,000 M2) OF LAND
OSCAR NIEMEYER PURCHASED FROM THE FOREMOST
ARCHITECT LE CORBUSIER NEW YORK REAL ESTATE
HARRISON & ABRAMOVITZ DEVELOPER.
MAIN CONTRACTOR [FULLER, TURNER, SLATTERY]

Location map of un headquarters

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LE CORBUSIER
UN HEADQUARTERS
Planning and construction
THE PROPERTY WAS ORIGINALLY A SLAUGHTER HOUSE.
THE DIMINUTIVE SITE ON THE EAST RIVER NECESSITATED A
"ROCKEFELLER CENTER" TYPE VERTICAL COMPLEX, THUS, IT WAS A
GIVEN THAT THE SECRETARIAT WOULD BE HOUSED IN A TALL OFFICE
TOWER.

DURING DAILY MEETINGS FROM FEBRUARY TO JUNE 1947, THE

Plan of the headquarters
COLLABORATIVE TEAM PRODUCED AT LEAST 45 DESIGNS AND
VARIATIONS.
AFTER MUCH DISCUSSION, HARRISON, WHO COORDINATED THE
MEETINGS, DETERMINED THAT A DESIGN BASED ON NIEMEYER'S AND
LE CORBUSIER'S PROJECT WOULD BE DEVELOPED FOR THE FINAL
PROJECT.

LE CORBUSIER'S PROJECT 23 CONSISTED OF A LARGE BLOCK CONTAINING BOTH THE

ASSEMBLY HALL AND THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS NEAR THE CENTRE OF THE SITE WITH THE
SECRETARIAT TOWER EMERGING AS A SLAB FROM THE SOUTH.
NIEMEYER'S PLAN WAS CLOSER TO THAT ACTUALLY CONSTRUCTED, WITH A DISTINCTIVE
GENERAL ASSEMBLY BUILDING, A LONG LOW HORIZONTAL BLOCK HOUSING THE OTHER
MEETING ROOMS, AND A TALL TOWER FOR THE SECRETARIAT.

THE COMPLEX AS BUILT, HOWEVER, REPOSITIONED NIEMEYER'S GENERAL ASSEMBLY

BUILDING TO THE NORTH OF THIS TRIPARTITE COMPOSITION. THIS PLAN INCLUDED A
PUBLIC PLAZA AS WELL.

AS PER AN AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY, THE BUILDINGS MET SOME BUT NOT ALL LOCAL
FIRE SAFETY AND BUILDING CODES. THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL IS ON THE
38TH FLOOR.
CONSTRUCTION ON THE INITIAL BUILDINGS BEGAN IN 1948, WITH THE CORNERSTONE LAID
ON 24 OCTOBER 1949, AND WAS COMPLETED IN 1952.

THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE HEADQUARTERS WAS FINANCED BY AN INTEREST-FREE LOAN

OF $65 MILLION MADE BY THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT, AND THE COST OF
CONSTRUCTION WAS ALSO REPORTED AS $65 MILLION.

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LE CORBUSIER
UN HEADQUARTERS
Design features

THE COMPLEX INCLUDES A NUMBER OF MAJOR BUILDINGS.WHILE THE

SECRETARIAT BUILDING IS MOST PREDOMINANTLY FEATURED IN
DEPICTIONS OF THE HEADQUARTERS, IT ALSO INCLUDES THE DOMED
GENERAL ASSEMBLY BUILDING, THE DAG HAMMARSKJÖLD LIBRARY, AS
WELL AS THE CONFERENCE AND VISITORS CENTER.

UNITED NATIONS GENERAL

JUST INSIDE THE PERIMETER FENCE OF THE COMPLEX STANDS A LINE OF ASSEMBLY HALL.
FLAGPOLES WHERE THE FLAGS OF ALL 193 UN MEMBER STATES, PLUS THE
U.N. FLAG, ARE FLOWN IN ENGLISH ALPHABETICAL ORDER.

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY BUILDING HOLDS THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY HALL

WHICH HAS A SEATING CAPACITY OF 1,800. AT 165 FT (50 M) LONG BY 115 FT
(35 M) WIDE, IT IS THE LARGEST ROOM IN THE COMPLEX.

THE CONFERENCE BUILDING FACES THE EAST RIVER BETWEEN THE

GENERAL ASSEMBLY BUILDING AND THE SECRETARIAT.

THE 39-STORY SECRETARIAT TOWER HOUSES OFFICES FOR THE

SECRETARY GENERAL, THE UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL.

THE DAG HAMMARSKJÖLD LIBRARY WAS DEDICATED ON 16 NOVEMBER

1961. THE BUILDING WAS A GIFT FROM THE FORD FOUNDATION AND IS
LOCATED NEXT TO THE SECRETARIAT AT THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF THE
HEADQUARTERS CAMPUS.

THE LIBRARY HOLDS 400,000 BOOKS, 9,800 NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICAL

TITLES, 80,000 MAPS AND THE WOODROW WILSON COLLECTION
CONTAINING 8,600 VOLUMES OF LEAGUE OF NATIONS DOCUMENTS AND
6,500 RELATED BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS. THE LIBRARY'S ECONOMIC AND
SOCIAL AFFAIRS COLLECTION IS HOUSED IN THE DC-2 BUILDING.

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LE CORBUSIER
THE SECRETARIAT
INTRODUCTION
LOCATED AT THE OTHER END OF THE CAPITOL, SEPARATING THE PALACE OF JUSTICE AND AT THE
WESTERN END OF THE GOVERNMENT, CALLED THE SECRETARIAT IS A LONG BAR OF 245 M LONG
AND 42 HIGH, WHICH CONTAINS 8-LEVEL ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES OF TWO PROVINCES PUNJAB
AND HARYANA.

THE SECRETARIAT BUILDING IS A LONG, HORIZONTAL CONCRETE SLAB FORM, 254 METERS LONG
AND 42 METERS HIGH, AND MARKS THE EDGE OF THE CAPITOL COMPLEX ON THE LEFT SIDE.

THE BUILDING IS COMPOSED OF SIX EIGHT-STORY BLOCK DIVIDED BY EXPANSION JOINTS AND
MEASURES OVER 800 FEET LONG, BOOKENDED BY TWO SCULPTURAL RAMPS PROVIDING
VERTICAL CIRCULATION THROUGHOUT THE FACILITIES‘ LEVELS.

COMPLETED IN 1952, THE SECRETARIAT BUILDING FUNCTIONS AS THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE

PUNJAB AND HARYANA MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS.

Location map of the secretariat THE MASSIVE, HORIZONTAL COMPLEX IS COMPRISED OF 8 STORIES OF ROUGH-CAST
LOCATION CHANDIGARH CONCRETE.

FUNCTION
GOVERNMENT

CONTRIBUTED BY BRUNO_VANBESIEN

PROJECT YEAR : 1951-1962 THE BUILDING HAS NOTABLE SIMILARITIES

WITH CORBUSIER‘S MARSEILLE BLOCK AND
HAD AN EQUALLY LOFTY GOAL: TO
REVOLUTIONIZE THE MODERN OFFICE
BUILDING. THE SECRETARIAT WAS AMONG
THE FIRST BUILDINGS DESIGNED AS A
―HEALTHY BUILDING‖ WITH CAREFUL
ATTENTION PAID TO NATURAL LIGHTING,
VENTILATION, AND ORGANIZATIONAL
EFFICIENCY.

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LE CORBUSIER
THE SECRETARIAT
STRUCTURAL AND DESIGN FEATURES
THE WHOLE STRUCTURE IS CONSTRUCTED IN ‗BETON BRUT‘ (ROUGH-
CAST CONCRETE) WITH CORBUSIER‘S SIGNATURE ‗BRISE-SOLEILS‘
FACADE.

OVER 800 FEET LONG, THE EXTENSIVE FACADE OF THE BUILDING

GIVES A SCULPTURAL AESTHETIC WITH EXPOSED CONCRETE RAMPS,
PUNCTURED WITH SMALL SQUARE WINDOWS DICTATING THE FRONT
AND REAR VIEWS.

ACCORDINGLY, THE SECRETARIAT BUILDING AVOIDS

OVERSHADOWING THE CAPITOL AS A WHOLE WITH ITS BULK SIZE.

INSTEAD, IT PLAYS A UNIFYING ROLE IN THE COMPLEX, WHICH IS

SYMBOLIC OF ITS ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTION.

THE FAÇADE OF THE BUILDING GIVES A SCULPTURAL APPEARANCE WITH EXPOSED

CONCRETE RAMPS, PERFORATED WITH SMALL SQUARE WINDOWS DOMINATING THE
FRONT AND REAR VIEWS.

THE BUILDING FAÇADE IS PROVIDED WITH PROJECTS FOR SUN CONTROL.

THE SECRETARIAT BUILDING HELPS IN DEFINING SPACE OF THE CAPITOL COMPLEX.

IT EMPHASIZE A SENSE OF HIERARCHY OF FAÇADES AND BY ITS SHEER CLIFF LIKE

SIZE AND VOLUME, COMPLETES THE VISTA THROUGH DISTANT MOUNTAINS, WHERE
EYE IS LED ONWARDS TO THE SMALLER, MORE SIGNIFICANT BUILDINGS AND SPACE
BEYOND.

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LE CORBUSIER
THE SECRETARIAT
TO MAXIMIZE NATURAL LIGHTING AND INCREASE CROSS-VENTILATION, A LONG AND
NARROW PLAN WAS IMPLEMENTED BY CORBUSIER — THIS APPROACH ALSO HELPED
DELINEATE BOTH THE ACTUAL AND THE IMPLIED BORDERS OF THE CAPITOL COMPLEX
AS A WHOLE.

TO VISUALLY REDUCE THE SCALE OF ITS MASSIVE FAÇADE, THE SECRETARIAT WAS
DESIGNED WITH A MODULAR FAÇADE THAT FRAGMENTS THE ELEVATION INTO
LEGIBLE, PROGRAMMATIC ELEMENTS.

THIS APPROACH NOT ONLY PREVENTS ONLOOKERS FROM BEING OVERWHELMED BY

ITS SCALE, IT ALSO PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE WITH REGARD TO THE DAYLIGHTING
SCHEME OF THE PROJECT AS A WHOLE.

THE VARIOUS PROJECTIONS, RECESSES, CIRCULATION ELEMENTS, AND MULTI-LEVEL

INTERIOR SPACES ACT AS SUN-BREAKS (‗BRISE-SOLEILS‘) TO MITIGATE SOLAR GAIN.

THE SECRETARIAT IS A SIMPLER AND MORE CONVENTIONAL FORM

WHERE VARIATIONS OF STRUCTURE AND INTERNAL DISTRIBUTION DO
NOT INTERRUPT ITS COMPACT VOLUME, BUT ARE REPRODUCED TWO-
DIMENSIONALLY IN THE VERY ELABORATE DESIGN OF THE ‗BRISE
SOLEILS‘.

THE SECRETARIAT AND THE VIDHAN SABHA (LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY)

BUILDING ARE IN SECTOR 1 OF THE COMPLEX. NEARBY IN THE
SECTOR IS A HUGE OPEN HAND SCULPTURE, CONCEIVED AS A
SYMBOL OF UNIT AND THE COLORFUL HIGH COURT, WHICH HAS A
DOUBLE ROOF, PROVIDING PROTECTION FROM THE SUN.

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LE CORBUSIER
THE SECRETARIAT
DESIGN FEATURES

TO VISUALLY REDUCE THE SCALE OF ITS MASSIVE FAÇADE, THE

SECRETARIAT WAS DESIGNED WITH A MODULAR FAÇADE THAT
FRAGMENTS THE ELEVATION INTO LEGIBLE, PROGRAMMATIC
ELEMENTS.

Plan of the capitol complex

13
Walter Gropius INTRODUCTION
WALTER ADOLPH GEORG GROPIUS (MAY 18, 1883 – JULY 5, 1969) WAS A GERMAN ARCHITECT
BORN IN BERLIN AND FOUNDER OF THE BAUHAUS SCHOOL, WHO, ALONG WITH LUDWIG MIES
VAN DER ROHE, LE CORBUSIER AND FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT IS WIDELY REGARDED AS ONE OF
THE PIONEERING MASTERS OF MODERN ARCHITECTURE.

EARLY CAREER
•WALTER GROPIUS, LIKE HIS FATHER AND HIS GREAT-UNCLE MARTIN GROPIUS BEFORE HIM,
BECAME AN ARCHITECT. GROPIUS COULD NOT DRAW, AND WAS DEPENDENT ON
COLLABORATORS AND PARTNER-INTERPRETERS THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER.

•IN 1910 GROPIUS LEFT THE FIRM OF BEHRENS AND TOGETHER WITH FELLOW EMPLOYEE ADOLF
MIYER ESTABLISHED A PRACTICE IN BERLIN.

• TOGETHER THEY SHARE CREDIT FOR ONE OF THE SEMINAL MODERNIST BUILDINGS CREATED
DURING THIS PERIOD: THE FAGUSWERK IN ALFELD AN DER LEINE , GERMANY , A SHOE LAST
FACTORY.

•ALTHOUGH GROPIUS AND MEYER ONLY DESIGNED THE FACADE, THE GLASS CURTAIN WALLS OF
THIS BUILDING DEMONSTRATED BOTH THE MODERNIST PRINCIPLE THAT FORM REFLECT
WALTER ADOLPH GEORG GROPIUS (MAY 18, 1883 – JULY 5, 1969)
FUNCTION AND GROPIUS'S CONCERN WITH PROVIDING HEALTHFUL CONDITIONS FOR THE
WORKING CLASS.

•OTHER WORKS OF THIS EARLY PERIOD INCLUDE THE OFFICE AND FACTORY BUILDING FOR THE
WERKBURN EXHIBITION (1914) IN COLOGNE .

WALTER GROPIUS'S MONUMENT TO THE

BAUHAUS (BUILT 1925–1926) IN DESSAU, MARCH DEAD (1921)
GERMANY
14
Walter Gropius
BAUHAUS PERIOD ( 1919- 1932)
IN 1919, GROPIUS WAS INVOLVED IN THE GLASS CHAIN UTOPIAN EXPRESSIONIST
CORRESPONDENCE UNDER THE PSEUDONYM "MASS." USUALLY MORE NOTABLE FOR HIS
ALUMINUM CITY TERRACE
FUNCTIONALIST APPROACH, THE "MONUMENT TO THE MARCH DEAD," DESIGNED IN 1919 (1944)
AND EXECUTED IN 1920, INDICATES THAT EXPRESSIONISM WAS AN INFLUENCE ON HIM AT
THAT TIME.

IN 1923, GROPIUS DESIGNED HIS FAMOUS DOOR HANDLES, NOW CONSIDERED AN ICON
OF 20TH-CENTURY DESIGN AND OFTEN LISTED AS ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL
DESIGNS TO EMERGE FROM BAUHAUS. HE ALSO DESIGNED LARGE-SCALE HOUSING
PROJECTS IN BERLIN, KARLSRUHE AND DESSAU IN 1926-32 THAT WERE MAJOR
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NEW OBJECTIVITY MOVEMENT, INCLUDING A CONTRIBUTION TO
THE SIEMENSSTADT PROJECT IN BERLIN.

GROPIUS HOUSE (1938) IN LINCOLN, MASSACHUSETTS

SOME FAMOUS WORKS

1910–1911 THE FAGUS FACTORY, 1921 SOMMERFELD HOUSE, BERLIN,

ALFELD AN DER LEINE, GERMANY GERMANY DESIGNED FOR ADOLF
SOMMERFELD

1967– 69 TOWER EAST, SHAKER HEIGHTS, OHIO,

1914 OFFICE AND FACTORY BUILDINGS AT THE THIS WAS GROPIUS' LAST MAJOR PROJECT.
WERKBUND EXHIBITION, 1914, COLOGNE,
GERMANY

15
Walter Gropius
FAGUS FACTORY
THE FAGUS FACTORY, A SHOE LAST FACTORY IN ALFELD ON THE LEINE IN
GERMANY, IS AN IMPORTANT EXAMPLE OF EARLY MODERN ARCHITECTURE.

COMMISSIONED BY OWNER CARL BENSCHEIDT WHO WANTED A RADICAL

STRUCTURE TO EXPRESS THE COMPANY'S BREAK FROM THE PAST, THE FACTORY
WAS DESIGNED BY WALTER GROPIUS AND ADOLF MEYER.

IT WAS CONSTRUCTED BETWEEN 1911 AND 1913, WITH ADDITIONS AND INTERIORS
COMPLETED IN 1925.

FOR THE FIRST TIME A COMPLETE FACADE IS CONCEIVED IN GLASS.

COUNTRY GERMANY
THE SUPPORTING PIERS ARE REDUCED TO NARROW MULLIONS OF BRICK.
TYPE CULTURAL
THE CORNERS ARE LEFT WITHOUT ANY SUPPORT.
CONSTRUCTION 1911- 1913
EUROPE AND NORTH THE EXPRESSION OF THE FLAT ROOF HAS ALSO CHANGED. ONLY IN THE BUILDING
UNESCO REGION [THE STEINER HOUSE, VIENNA] BY ADOLF LOOS WHICH WAS DONE ONE YEAR
AMERICA
BEFORE THE FAGUS FACTORY, HAVE WE SEEN THE SAME FEELING FOR THE PURE
CUBE.

ANOTHER EXCEEDINGLY IMPORTANT QUALITY OF GROPIUS'S BUILDING IS THAT,

THANKS TO THE LARGE EXPANSES OF CLEAR GLASS, THE USUAL HARD
SEPARATION OF EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR IS ANNIHILATED.

16
Walter Gropius
FAGUS FACTORY
INFLUENCES
THE BUILDING THAT HAD THE GREATER INFLUENCE ON THE DESIGN OF FAGUS WAS AEG‘S TURBINE
FACTORY DESIGNED BY PETER BEHRENS.

THE FAGUS MAIN BUILDING CAN BE SEEN AS AN INVERSION OF THE TURBINE FACTORY.BOTH HAVE
CORNERS FREE OF SUPPORTS, AND GLASS SURFACES BETWEEN PIERS THAT COVER THE WHOLE
HEIGHT OF THE BUILDING.

HOWEVER, IN THE TURBINE FACTORY THE CORNERS ARE COVERED BY HEAVY ELEMENTS THAT
SLANT INSIDE. THE GLASS SURFACES ALSO SLANT INSIDE AND ARE RECESSED IN RELATION TO THE
PIERS. THE LOAD-BEARING ELEMENTS ARE ATTENUATED AND THE BUILDING HAS AN IMAGE OF
STABILITY AND MONUMENTALITY.

IN FAGUS EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE HAPPENS; THE CORNERS ARE LEFT OPEN AND THE PIERS ARE
AEG TURBINE FACTORY BY PETER
RECESSED LEAVING THE GLASS SURFACE TO THE FRONT. BEHRENS, 1910

GROPIUS DESCRIBES THIS TRANSFORMATION BY SAYING,

"THE ROLE OF THE WALLS BECOMES RESTRICTED TO THAT OF MERE SCREENS STRETCHED
BETWEEN THE UPRIGHT COLUMNS OF THE FRAMEWORK TO KEEP OUT RAIN, COLD AND NOISE‘

FAGUS FACTORY FLOOR PLAN

17
Walter Gropius
FAGUS FACTORY
DESIGN FEATURES
THE BUILDING THAT IS COMMONLY REFERRED AS THE FAGUS BUILDING IS THE MAIN
BUILDING.

IT WAS CONSTRUCTED IN 1911 ACCORDING TO WERNER‘S PLAN BUT WITH THE GLASS
FACADES DESIGNED BY GROPIUS AND MEYER AND THEN EXPANDED IN 1913.

THE FAGUS BUILDING IS A 40-CENTIMETER HIGH, DARK BRICK BASE THAT PROJECTS
FROM THE FACADE BY 4 CENTIMETER.

THE ENTRANCE WITH THE CLOCK IS PART OF THE 1913 EXPANSION. THE INTERIORS OF
THE BUILDING, WHICH CONTAINED MAINLY OFFICES, WERE FINISHED IN THE MID 20S.

THE OTHER TWO BIG BUILDINGS ON THE SITE ARE THE PRODUCTION HALL AND THE
WAREHOUSE. BOTH WERE CONSTRUCTED IN 1911 AND EXPANDED IN 1913.

THE PRODUCTION HALL IS A ONE-STOREY BUILDING. IT WAS ALMOST INVISIBLE FROM THE
RAILWAY (NORTH) ELEVATION AND ACQUIRED A PROPER FACADE AFTER THE EXPANSION.

THE WAREHOUSE IS A FOUR-STOREY BUILDING WITH FEW OPENINGS. ITS DESIGN

FOLLOWED CLOSELY THE ORIGINAL PLAN BY WERNER AND IT IS LEFT OUT FROM MANY OF
THE PHOTOGRAPHS.

APART FROM THEM, THE SITE CONTAINS VARIOUS SMALL BUILDINGS DESIGNED BY
GROPIUS AND MEYER.

GROPIUS AND MEYER WERE ABLE TO ENFORCE ONLY MINOR CHANGES IN THE OVERALL
LAYOUT OF THE FACTORY COMPLEX. OVERALL, WERNER'S INTENDED LAYOUT FOR THE
INDIVIDUAL BUILDINGS WITHIN THE COMPLEX WAS CARRIED OUT; GREATER UNIFORMITY
AND COHERENCE WERE ACHIEVED, HOWEVER, THROUGH GROPIUS AND MEYER'S
REDUCTIONISM IN FORM, MATERIAL, AND COLOR.

18
Walter Gropius
GROPIUS HOUSE
INTRODUCTION
THE GROPIUS HOUSE WAS THE FAMILY RESIDENCE OF NOTED ARCHITECT WALTER
GROPIUS AT 68 BAKER BRIDGE ROAD, LINCOLN, MASSACHUSETTS.

IT IS NOW OWNED BY HISTORIC NEW ENGLAND AND IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY (JUNE 1 – OCTOBER 15, AND WEEKENDS
(OCTOBER 16 – MAY 31). AN ADMISSION FEE IS CHARGED.

THIS HOUSE WAS HIS FIRST ARCHITECTURAL COMMISSION IN THE UNITED STATES.
HE DESIGNED IT IN 1937, WHEN HE CAME TO TEACH AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY‗S
GRADUATE SCHOOL OF DESIGN, AND IT WAS BUILT IN 1938.

68 BAKER BRIDGE ROAD,HE CHOSE THE AREA BECAUSE OF ITS PROXIMITY TO CONCORD ACADEMY WHICH
LOCATION: LINCOLN, HIS DAUGHTER, ATI, WAS GOING TO ATTEND.
MASSACHUSETTS
IT REMAINED GROPIUS' HOME FROM 1938 UNTIL HIS DEATH IN 1969. THE HOUSE
AREA: 5.51 ACRES (22,300 M2) CAUSED A SENSATION WHEN BUILT.

NRHP REFERENCE#: 00000709 IN KEEPING WITH BAUHAUS PHILOSOPHY, EVERY ASPECT OF THE HOUSE AND ITS
SURROUNDING LANDSCAPE WAS PLANNED FOR MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY AND
SIMPLICITY.

LOCATION MAP OF GROPIUS HOUSE

19
Walter Gropius
GROPIUS HOUSE

PLAN OF GROPIUS HOUSE

AS TO MY PRACTICE, WHEN I BUILT MY FIRST HOUSE IN THE U.S.A. –

WHICH WAS MY OWN – I MADE IT A POINT TO ABSORB INTO MY OWN
CONCEPTION THOSE FEATURES OF THE NEW ENGLAND
ARCHITECTURAL TRADITION THAT I FOUND STILL ALIVE AND
ADEQUATE. THIS FUSION OF THE REGIONAL SPIRIT WITH A
CONTEMPORARY APPROACH TO DESIGN PRODUCED A HOUSE THAT I
WOULD NEVER HAVE BUILT IN EUROPE WITH ITS ENTIRELY DIFFERENT
CLIMATIC, TECHNICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL BACKGROUND.
—WALTER GROPIUS, SCOPE OF TOTAL ARCHITECTURE (1956

20
Walter Gropius
GROPIUS HOUSE
DESIGN FEATURES
HIS SCREENED PORCH WAS PLACED IN SUCH A WAY THAT IT HELPS TO DIVIDE THE LAND
AROUND THE HOUSE INTO MULTIPLE ZONES, COMPARABLE TO ROOMS INSIDE A HOUSE.

THE GROPIUS HOUSE MIXES UP THE TRADITIONAL MATERIALS OF NEW ENGLAND

ARCHITECTURE (WOOD, BRICK, AND FIELDSTONE) WITH INDUSTRIAL MATERIALS SUCH AS
GLASS BLOCK, ACOUSTIC PLASTER, AND CHROME BANISTERS.

THE HOUSE STRUCTURE CONSISTS OF A TRADITIONAL NEW ENGLAND POST AND BEAM
WOODEN FRAME, SHEATHED WITH WHITE PAINTED TONGUE AND GROVE VERTICAL SIDING.

TRADITIONAL CLAPBOARDS ARE USED IN THE INTERIOR FOYER, BUT ARE APPLIED
VERTICALLY. STRIKING AS IT IS, THE HOUSE WAS BUILT WITH ECONOMY IN MIND, AND TOTAL
CONSTRUCTION COSTS WERE $18,000.

IT WAS DECLARED A NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK IN 2000.

21
Post-Modern architecture
aim INTRODUCTION
--MODERN ARCHITECTURE HAD FEW LIMITATIONS,  POSTMODERN ARCHITECTURE BEGAN AS AN INTERNATIONAL STYLE, THE FIRST
THEREFORE POST MODERN ARCHITECTURE EMERGED. EXAMPLES OF WHICH ARE GENERALLY CITED AS BEING FROM THE 1950S, BUT DID
--MODERN ARCHITECTURE HAD MONOTONY IN THE NOT BECOME A MOVEMENT UNTIL THE LATE 1970S AND CONTINUES TO INFLUENCE
BUILDINGS. PRESENT-DAY ARCHITECTURE.
 POST-MODERNITY IN ARCHITECTURE IS SAID TO BE HERALDED BY THE RETURN
--BASICALLY POST-MODERNISM ADDRESSES THE
LIMITATIONS OF THE MODERN PERIOD ARCHITECTURE OF "WIT, ORNAMENT AND REFERENCE" TO ARCHITECTURE IN RESPONSE TO THE
FORMALISM OF THE INTERNATIONAL STYLE OF MODERNISM.
 THE FUNCTIONAL AND FORMALIZED SHAPES AND SPACES OF THE MODERNIST
STYLE ARE REPLACED BY DIVERSE AESTHETICS: STYLES COLLIDE, FORM IS
HIGH-TECH ADOPTED FOR ITS OWN SAKE, AND NEW WAYS OF VIEWING FAMILIAR STYLES AND
ARCHITECTURE
LATE POST-MODERN SPACE ABOUND.
POST MODERN
ARCHITECTURE
DECONSTRUCTIVISM PERHAPS MOST OBVIOUSLY, ARCHITECTS REDISCOVERED THE EXPRESSIVE AND
EARLY POST-MODERN POST MODERNISM SYMBOLIC VALUE OF ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENTS AND FORMS THAT HAD EVOLVED
THROUGH CENTURIES OF BUILDING WHICH HAD BEEN ABANDONED BY THE
MODERN STYLE.

SONY BUILDING BY PHILIP JOHNSON
MIES VAN DE ROHE
ROBERT VENTURI
“FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION”
“FORM AND FUNCTIONS ARE THE SAME”
VANNA VENTURI HOUSE BY ROBERT VENTURI
PORTLAND BUILDING BY MICHEAL GRAVES
“LESS IS MORE “
“LESS IS BORE”
CHARACTERISTICS
 THE USE OF SCULPTURAL FORMS, ORNAMETS, ANTHROPOMORPHISM AND
MATERIALS WHICH PERFORM TROMPE DÓEIL- (TECHNIQUE THAT USES REALISTIC
IMAGERY TO CREATE OPTICAL ILLUSION, THE PORTLAND BUILDING (1980) HAS PILLARS
REPRESENTED BUT THEY ARE NOT REAL.
 PLURALISM, DOUBLE CODING (BUILDINGS CONVEY MANY MEANINGS
SIMULTANEOUSLY-THE SONY BUILDING IN NEW YORK, IT BRINGS THE CONNOTATIONS
OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY YET AT TOP SECTION CONVEYS ELEMENTS OF CLASSICAL
ANTIQUITY), FLYING BUTTRESSES AND HIGH CEILINGS, IRONY AND PARADOX, AND
CONTEXTUALISM.
 THE FORMS ARE NOT REDUCED TO AN ABSOLUTE MINIMUM; THEY ARE BUILT AND
SHAPED FOR THEIR OWN SAKE.
POSTMODERNISM FOLLOWS- COMMUNICATING A MEANING AND THE CHARACTERISTIC
OF SYMBOLISM.
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF POSTMODERNISM WERE RATHER UNIFIED GIVEN THEIR
DIVERSE APPEARANCES-PLAYFULLY EXTRAVAGANT FORMS AND THE HUMOUR OF THE
MEANINGS THE BUILDINGS CONVEYED.
PHILIP JOHNSON
INTRODUCTION
HIS WORKS

PHILIP CORTELYOU JOHNSON (JULY 8, 1906 – JANUARY 25, 2005) WAS AN INFLUENTIAL AMERICAN
GLASS HOUSE (1949) NY CITY ARCHITECT.

EARLY CAREER
•IN 1930, HE FOUNDED THE DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN AT THE MUSEUM OF MODERN
ART IN NEW YORK CITY.
•PRODUCED THE LANDMARK SHOW ―THE INTERNATIONAL STYLE: ARCHITECTURE SINCE 1922‖ AS AN
INTRODUCTION OF MODERN ARCHITECTURE TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC.
•IN 1978 HE WAS AWARDED AN AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS GOLD MEDAL AND IN 1979 THE
FIRST PRITZKER ARCHITECTURE PRIZE.
•HE WAS A STUDENT AT THE HARVARD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF DESIGN.
•JOHNSON DIED IN HIS SLEEP WHILE AT THE GLASS HOUSE RETREAT.
GATE OF EUROPE (1989).MADRID, EUROPE
•HE LIVED WITH HIS LIFE PARTNER OF 45 YEARS, DAVID WHITNEY ,WHO DIED LATER THAT YEAR AT AGE
66.
CHARACTERISTICS
PHILIP JOHNSON‘S STYLE WAS EVER-CHANGING 1. EMPHASIS ON ARCHITECTURAL VOLUME
STYLISTIC ADHERENCES, WHICH PASSED FROM OVER MASS (PLANES OVER SOLIDITY).
MODERNITY TO DECONSTRUCTION THROUGH 2. REJECTION OF SYMMETRY.
ABSTRACT CLASSICISM AND HISTORICIST 3. REJECTION OF APPLIED DECORATION.
POSTMODERNITY:

IN 1932, WITH AN EXHIBITION IN THE NEW YORK

MOMA, HE INTRODUCED IN THE UNITED STATES IN 1988, OR 56 YEARS LATER, WITH
WHAT HE AND HENRY-RUSSELL HITCHCOCK NAMED ANOTHER MOMA EXHIBITION HE
―INTERNATIONAL STYLE‖; CONSECRATED THE FRACTURED
ARCHITECTURE OF DECONSTRUCTION

THE SONY BUILDING (1984), NY

PHILIP JOHNSON
GLASS HOUSE
 THE GLASS HOUSE OR JOHNSON HOUSE, BUILT IN 1949 IN NEW CANAAN, CONNECTICUT,
WAS DESIGNED BY PHILIP JOHNSON AS HIS OWN RESIDENCE.
 IT WAS AN IMPORTANT AND INFLUENTIAL PROJECT FOR JOHNSON AND FOR MODERN
ARCHITECTURE.
 THE BUILDING IS AN ESSAY IN MINIMAL STRUCTURE, GEOMETRY, PROPORTION, AND THE
EFFECTS OF TRANSPARENCY AND REFLECTION.
 THE HOUSE IS AN EXAMPLE OF EARLY USE OF INDUSTRIAL MATERIALS SUCH AS GLASS
AND STEEL IN HOME DESIGN.

 INSPIRED BY MIES VAN DER ROHE‘S FARNSWORTH HOUSE, THE GLASS HOUSE BY PHILIP
JOHNSON, WITH ITS PERFECT PROPORTIONS AND ITS SIMPLICITY, IS CONSIDERED ONE OF
THE FIRST MOST BRILLIANT WORKS OF MODERN ARCHITECTURE.
 JOHNSON BUILT THE 47-ACRE ESTATE FOR HIMSELF IN NEW CANAAN, CONNECTICUT.
LOCATION: NEW CANAAN, CONNECTICUT
 THE HOUSE WAS THE FIRST OF FOURTEEN STRUCTURES THAT THE ARCHITECT BUILT ON
THE PROPERTY OVER A SPAN OF FIFTY YEARS.
BUILT: 1949
ARCHITECT: PHILIP CORTELYOU
JOHNSON
ARCHITECTURAL STY MODERN MOVEMENT
LE:
GOVERNING BODY: NATIONAL TRUST FOR
HISTORIC PRESERVATION

THE ONE-STORY HOUSE HAS A 32′X56′ OPEN FLOOR

PLAN ENCLOSED IN 18-FEET-WIDE FLOOR-TO-
CEILING SHEETS OF GLASS BETWEEN BLACK
STEEL PIERS AND STOCK H-BEAMS THAT SITE PLAN OF GLASS HOUSE
ANCHORED THE GLASS IN PLACE. FLOOR PLAN OF THE GLASS HOUSE

JOHNSON SPENT THREE YEARS DESIGNING THE
STRUCTURE, WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY ONE OF TWO
BUILDINGS (ALONG WITH THE BRICK GUEST
HOUSE) ON WHAT WAS THEN AN 11-ACRE
(45,000 M2) TRACT
THE HOUSE WAS DECLARED A NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK IN 1997.
THE HOUSE WAS THE PLACE OF PHILIP JOHNSON'S PASSING ON JANUARY 25, 2005 AT
THE AGE OF 98.
JOHNSON PASSED ON OWNERSHIP OF THE GLASS HOUSE TO THE NATIONAL TRUST
FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION, WHICH OPENED IT TO VISITORS IN APRIL 2007.
PHILIP JOHNSON
GLASS HOUSE
THE BRICK HOUSE ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES
SERVED AS A
GUEST HOUSE THE CLEAR GLASS PANELS CREATE A SERIES OF LIVELY
REFLECTIONS, INCLUDING THOSE OF THE SURROUNDING
TREES, AND PEOPLE WALKING INSIDE OR OUTSIDE OF
THE HOUSE, LAYERING THEM ON TOP OF ONE ANOTHER
ENTRANCE TO THE CREATING EVERCHANGING IMAGES WITH EACH STEP
PAINTING GALLERY TAKEN AROUND IT.

THE INTERIOR OF THE GLASS HOUSE IS COMPLETELY

THE STUDY
EXPOSED TO THE OUTDOORS EXCEPT FOR THE A CYLINDER
BRICK STRUCTURE WITH THE ENTRANCE TO THE BATHROOM
ON ONE SIDE AND A FIREPLACE ON THE OTHER SIDE.

THE FLOOR-TO-CEILING HEIGHT IS TEN AND A HALF FEET AND

THE BRICK CYLINDER STRUCTURE PROTRUDES FROM THE
TOP.

"DA MONSTA" THE ONLY OTHER DIVISIONS IN THE HOUSE BESIDES THE
BATHROOM ARE DISCREETLY DONE WITH LOW CABINETS AND
BOOKSHELVES, MAKING THE HOUSE A SINGLE OPEN ROOM.

THIS PROVIDES VENTILATION FROM ALL FOUR SIDES

JOHNSON'S RAMBLING ESTATE, ORIGINALLY 47- FLOWING THROUGH THE HOUSE AS WELL AS AMPLE LIGHTING
ACRE (190,000 M2), ALSO INCLUDES 13
MODERNIST STRUCTURES
"BRICK HOUSE" (1949–1950), WHICH SERVES AS A
GUEST HOUSE,
THE PAVILION (1962), THE BEAUTY IN ITS COMPOSITION ALONG WITH THE ROLLING
PAINTING GALLERY (1965), LANDSCAPE AND WITH THE LINES OF THE GLASS HOUSE AND
SCULPTURE GALLERY (1970), THE OTHER BUILDINGS SMOOTHLY BLENDING IN WITH THE
THE STUDY (1980), LINES OF THE HORIZON AND THE SURROUNDING LANDSCAPE,
THE GHOST HOUSE (1982), ONE CAN FEEL A BREATHTAKING SENSATION OF ENDLESSNESS.
THE KIRSTEIN TOWER (1985) AND
THE GATE HOUSE ("DA MONSTA", 1995).
INTERIOR OF SCULPTURE GALLERY
PHILIP JOHNSON
SONY BUILDING
 THE SONY TOWER, FORMERLY THE AT&T BUILDING, IS A 647 FEET (197 M) TALL,
37-STORY HIGHRISE SKYSCRAPER LOCATED IN THE NEW YORK CITY BOROUGH
OF MANHATTAN.
 IT IS THE HEADQUARTERS OF SONY CORPORATION OF AMERICA.
THE BUILDING WAS DESIGNED BY ARCHITECT PHILIP JOHNSON AND PARTNER
JOHN BURGEE, COMPLETED IN 1984, AND CLOSE - IN CONCEPT - TO THE 1982
HUMANA BUILDING BY MICHAEL GRAVES.
 IT BECAME IMMEDIATELY CONTROVERSIAL FOR ITS ORNAMENTAL
TOP (SOMETIMES MOCKED AS "CHIPPENDALE", BUT ENJOYED FOR ITS
SPECTACULAR ARCHED ENTRANCEWAY, MEASURING ABOUT SEVEN
STORIES IN HEIGHT.
WITH THESE ORNAMENTAL ADDITIONS, THE BUILDING CHALLENGED
ARCHITECTURAL MODERNISM'S DEMAND FOR STARK FUNCTIONALISM
AND PURELY EFFICIENT DESIGN.

TYPE OFFICE
ARCHITECTURAL
POSTMODERN SONY BUILDING
STYLE
ADDRESS NEW YORK CITY, USA
CONSTRUCTION
1981
STARTED
SONY SONY
COMPLETED 1984
HEADQUARTERS TECHNOLOGY LAB
COST $1.1 BILLION
ARCHED ENTRANCEWAY
OWNER THE CHETRIT GROUP
HEIGHT IN OCTOBER 1978, AT&T WAS GRANTED PERMISSION TO ADD 81,928 SQUARE FEET
(7,611.4 M2), THE EQUIVALENT OF SOME FOUR FLOORS OF SPACE ON ITS PROPOSED
ROOF 647 FT (197 M)
BUILDING, IN EXCHANGE FOR AGREEING TO PROVIDE OPEN PUBLIC SPACE AND A THREE-
TECHNICAL DETAILS STORY COMMUNICATIONS MUSEUM.
FLOOR COUNT 37
DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION THE FIRM WAS GRANTED AN ADDITIONAL 43,000 SQUARE FEET (4,000 M2), ABOUT TWO
FLOOR'S WORTH, AS A BONUS FOR CREATING A 14,000-SQUARE-FOOT (1,300 M2) COVERED
PHILIP JOHNSON AND ARCADE ALONG MADISON AVENUE THAT WOULD INCLUDE SEATING AND RETAIL KIOSKS.
ARCHITECT
JOHN BURGEE
PHILIP JOHNSON
SONY BUILDING
IN 1992, SONY SUBMITTED IN WHICH IT WOULD TAKE SOME OF THE OPEN SPACE IN
THE BUILDING'S ATRIUM THAT HAD BEEN USED TO OBTAIN APPROVAL FOR
ADDITIONAL FLOORS ON TOP OF THE BUILDING, AND CONVERT THOSE AREAS INTO
RETAIL SPACE.

IN EXCHANGE, THE COMPANY WOULD EXPAND THE GLASS-ENCLOSED PEDESTRIAN

WALKWAY WITH THE ADDITION OF PLANTERS AND PUBLIC SEATING.

SONY ACQUIRED ADDITIONAL SPACE ACROSS THE STREET, A 445,000 SQUARE FEET
(41,300 M2) BUILDING BUILT IN THE 1960S THAT UNDERWENT RENOVATIONS OF ITS
LOBBY, WINDOWS, BATHROOMS AND OTHER COMMON SPACES IN CONJUNCTION
WITH SONY'S LEASE.

SONY CONNECTED THE TWO BUILDINGS USING FIBER OPTIC CABLES THAT WERE
RUN UNDER MADISON AVENUE AND INSTALLED MICROWAVE COMMUNICATIONS
EQUIPMENT ON THE TOP OF THE 555 BUILDING.

DIFFERENT VIEWS OF THE BUILDING

DOUBLE CODING
SONY WONDER TECHNOLOGY
LAB
 THE SONY WONDER TECHNOLOGY LAB IS A
MULTIMEDIA, HANDS-ON TOUR THROUGH THE
WORLD OF MEDIA, LOCATED IN A FOUR-STORY
ANNEX ACCESSIBLE THROUGH A GLASS-ROOFED
ATRIUM THAT CONNECTS 55TH AND 56TH STREETS
IN MID-BLOCK.
 OPEN TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, SONY BILLS
THE FREE EXHIBITS AS A "TECHNOLOGY AND
ENTERTAINMENT MUSEUM FOR ALL AGES".
 SONY WONDER REPLACED INFOQUEST CENTER,
A PERMANENT TELECOMMUNICATIONS EXHIBITION
THAT HAD BEEN BUILT BY AT&T.
GLASS ATRIUM

TOP VIEW
ROBERT VENTURI
INTRODUCTION
HIS WORKS

VANNA VENTURI HOUSE,(1964), PENNSYLVANIA

ROBERT CHARLES VENTURI, JR. (BORN JUNE 25, 1925) IS AN AMERICAN ARCHITECT, FOUNDING
PRINCIPAL OF THE FIRM VENTURI, SCOTT BROWN AND ASSOCIATES, AND ONE OF THE MAJOR
ARCHITECTURAL FIGURES IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY.

THEIR BUILDINGS, PLANNING, THEORETICAL WRITINGS AND TEACHING HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE
EXPANSION OF DISCOURSE ABOUT ARCHITECTURE.

VENTURI WAS AWARDED THE PRITZKER PRIZE IN ARCHITECTURE IN 1991

GUILD HOUSE, (1964), PHILADELPHIA
HE IS ALSO KNOWN FOR COINING THE MAXIM "LESS IS A BORE" A POSTMODERN ANTIDOTE TO MIES
VAN DER ROHE'S FAMOUS MODERNIST DICTUM "LESS IS MORE".

CHARACTERISTICS
 VENTURI'S BUILDINGS TYPICALLY JUXTAPOSE ARCHITECTURAL
SYSTEMS, ELEMENTS AND AIMS, TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE
CONFLICTS OFTEN INHERENT IN A PROJECT OR SITE

SAINSBURY WING OF THE NATIONAL GALLERY, ROBERT VENTURI IS KNOWN FOR INCORPORATING STYLIZED
(1991), LONDON CULTURAL ICONS INTO HIS BUILDINGS.

HOWEVER, VENTURI IS RECOGNIZED FOR MUCH MORE THAN

POSTMODERNIST DESIGNS.
HE WROTE THE BOOK
―COMPLEXITY AND THE FIRM HAS COMPLETED MORE THAN 400 PROJECTS, EACH
CONTRADICTION IN UNIQUELY SUITED TO THE SPECIAL NEEDS OF THE CLIENTS.
ARCHITECTURE‖ WHICH CHANGED
PEOPLE‘S VIEW ABOUT
UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE, (1996),
USA ARCHITECTURE
ROBERT VENTURI
VANNA VENTURI HOUSE
 THE VANNA VENTURI HOUSE, ONE OF THE FIRST PROMINENT WORKS OF THE
POSTMODERN ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT, IS LOCATED IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF
CHESTNUT HILL IN PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.
 IT WAS DESIGNED BY ARCHITECT ROBERT VENTURI FOR HIS MOTHER VANNA VENTURI, AND
CONSTRUCTED BETWEEN 1962 -1964.
 THE HOUSE WAS SOLD IN 1973 AND REMAINS A PRIVATE RESIDENCE.

STRUCTURAL DETAILS
THE FIVE ROOM HOUSE STANDS ONLY ABOUT 30 FEET (9 M) TALL AT THE TOP OF THE
CHIMNEY, BUT HAS A MONUMENTAL FRONT FAÇADE.
 A NON-STRUCTURAL APPLIQUE ARCH AND "HOLE IN THE WALL" WINDOWS, AMONG OTHER
ELEMENTS, WERE CHALLENGE TO MODERNIST ORTHODOXY.
GENERAL INFORMATION
 THE HOUSE IS DESIGNED AROUND A CHIMNEY THAT IS CENTRALISED AND GOES ALL THE
TYPE RESIDENCE
WAY TO THE TOP OF THE HOUSE.
ARCHITECTURAL STYLE POSTMODERN EXTERNALLY, THEY HOUSE IS BUILT SYMMETRICAL.
PHILADELPHIA, VENTURI HAS DISTORTED THIS IDEA OF SYMMETRY.
TOWN OR CITY THERE IS ALSO A BASEMENT UNDERNEATH THE HOUSE THAT IS OFTEN NOT UNCOVERED BY
PENNSYLVANIA
PEOPLE.
COUNTRY UNITED STATES
CONSTRUCTION
1959 (DESIGN)
STARTED
COMPLETED 1964
COST $43,000
CLIENT VANNA VENTURI
TECHNICAL DETAILS VIEW FROM THE SIDE (SOUTH-
EAST)
STRUCTURAL SYSTEM LIGHT WOOD FRAME
FLOOR PLANS OF VENTURI RESIDENCE
FLOOR COUNT 2 PLUS BASEMENT
FLOOR AREA 1,800 SQ FT (170 M2)
DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
ARCHITECT ROBERT VENTURI

VIEW FROM THE REAR OF THE

HOUSE (SOUTH)
ROBERT VENTURI
VANNA VENTURI HOUSE
― I LIKE ELEMENTS WHICH ARE HYBRID RATHER THAN "PURE," COMPROMISING RATHER
THAN "CLEAR," DISTORTED RATHER THAN "STRAIGHTFORWARD."
- ROBERT VENTURI
ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES
 THE BASIC ELEMENTS OF THE HOUSE ARE A REACTION AGAINST STANDARD MODERNIST
ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENTS:
- PITCHED ROOF RATHER THAN FLAT ROOF, EMPHASIS ON CENTRAL HEARTH & CHIMNEY,
CLOSED GROUND FLOOR "SET FIRMLY ON GROUND" RATHER THAN MODERNIST COLUMNS &
GLASS WALLS WHICH OPEN UP THE GROUND FLOOR.
-ON THE FRONT ELEVATION THE BROKEN PEDIMENT OR GABLE & A PURELY ORNAMENTAL
DETAILED SECTION OF THE HOUSE
APPLIQUE ARCH REFLECT RETURN TO MANNERIST ARCHITECTURE AND A REJECTION OF
MODERNISM.

 HOUSE IS A COMPOSITION OF RECTANGULAR, CURVILINEAR, AND DIAGONAL ELEMENTS

COMING TOGETHER (OR SOMETIMES JUXTAPOSING EACH OTHER) IN A WAY THAT
INARGUABLY CREATES COMPLEXITY AND CONTRADICTION.

IN ORDER TO CREATE MORE CONTRADICTION AND COMPLEXITY, VENTURI EXPERIMENTED

FRONT ELEVATION
WITH SCALE. INSIDE THE HOUSE CERTAIN ELEMENTS ARE ―TOO BIG,‖ SUCH AS THE SIZE OF
THE FIREPLACE AND THE HEIGHT OF THE MANTEL COMPARED TO THE SIZE OF THE ROOM.
-DOORS ARE WIDE AND LOW IN HEIGHT, ESPECIALLY IN CONTRAST TO THE GRANDNESS OF
THE ENTRANCE SPACE.
- VENTURI ALSO MINIMIZED CIRCULATION SPACE IN THE DESIGN OF THE HOUSE, SO THAT IT
CONSISTED OF LARGE DISTINCT ROOMS WITH MINIMUM SUBDIVISIONS BETWEEN THEM.

REAR ELEVATION

FRONT GABLED ARCH STAIRCASE LEADING TO UPPER FLOOR DRAWING ROOM AREA
INTERIOR OF THE HOUSE
ROBERT VENTURI
PROVINCIAL CAPITOL BUILDING
 THE CAPITOL IS THE HEART OF THE MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATION OF THE FRENCH CITY OF
TOULOUSE.
IT IS DESIGNED BY THE ROBERT VENTURI ALONG WITH HIS WIFE DENISE AND ASSOCIATES IN
1999 FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HAUTE-GARONNE.
THE BUILDING IS TWO NARROW 6 STORY WINGS JOINED TOGETHER BY TWO GLASS-CLAD
BRIDGES, GLASS CURTAIN WALLS WERE UNIQUE AT THAT TIME FOR TOULOUSE WHICH IS
MOSTLY BRICK TOWN.

 THE CURRENT FAÇADE, 135 METRES LONG AND BUILT OF THE CHARACTERISTIC PINK BRICK IN
NEOCLASSICAL STYLE, DATES FROM 1750, BUILT ACCORDING TO PLANS BY GUILLAUME
CAMMAS.
THE EIGHT COLUMNS REPRESENT THE ORIGINAL EIGHT CAPITOLS. IN 1873, EUGÈNE VIOLLET-
LE-DUC BUILT A BELL TOWER TYPICAL OF THE STYLE OF NORTHERN FRANCE ON TOP OF THE
DONJON OF THE BUILDING.

GENERAL INFORMATION
GOVERNMENT
TYPE
OFFICES
ARCHITECTURAL
POSTMODERN
STYLE
TOWN OR CITY TOULOUSE
COUNTRY FRANCE
COMPLETETION 1999
COST $80,000,000
FLOOR PLAN OF THE CAPITOL
DEPARTMENT OF
CLIENT SITE PLAN
HAUTE-GARONNE
THE BUILDING CONSISTS OF AN ADMINISTRATIVE AND LEGISLATIVE COMPLEX INCLUDING OFFICES
FLOOR AREA 760,000 SQ FEET
THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY CHAMBER, PUBLIC SERVICES, VARIOUS PUBLIC AND GOVERNMENTAL
DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION SUPPORT SPACES, THREE LEVELS OF UNDERGROUND PARKING FOR PUBLIC AND STAFF, AND
VENTURI, SCOTT OUTDOOR AND INDOOR CEREMONIAL SPACES.
ARCHITECT BROWN AND TODAY THE CAPITOLE HOUSES THE CITY HALL, AS WELL AS THE THÉÂTRE DU CAPITOLE DE
ASSOCIATES TOULOUSE OPERA COMPANY AND A SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
ROBERT VENTURI
PROVINCIAL CAPITOL BUILDING
DESIGN
• THE BUILDING IS ARRANGED IN TWO SLENDER SIX-STORY WINGS OF FLEXIBLE LOFT
SPACE LINKED BY TWO GLASS-CLAD BRIDGES.
• THESE LINEAR ADMINISTRATION BUILDINGS FRAME A PEDESTRIAN WAY, A "CIVIC
STREET" THAT CROSSES THE SITE DIAGONALLY AND CONNECTS THE SITE OF AN
HISTORIC CITY GATE NEAR THE CANAL DU MIDI BRIDGE - REPLICATED WITH TWO
COLUMNS.

• AT THE CENTER OF THE SITE ONE WING BOWS OUTWARD TO CREATE THE NORTH ENTRY & ―STREET THROUGH
THE BUILDING‖
CRESCENT-SHAPED PUBLIC SPACE ALONG THIS CIVIC STREET, THE FOCUS OF
VIEW INTO COURTYARD
BUILDINGS.
• THE SURFACES OF THE INTERIOR COURT CONTAIN THE SAME WINDOWS, AND ARE
OF BRICK SO THE "STREET" EVOKES THE ROSY AURA OF THE HISTORICAL STREETS
OF TOULOUSE.
• IMPORTANT FORMS SUCH AS THOSE OF THE HALL D'HONNEUR AND SALLE DU
CONSEIL GÉNÉRAL ARE SHEATHED IN GLASS CURTAIN WALLS.

ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES
EXTERIOR OF ASSEMBLY HALL
THE BUILDING'S SITING IN CENTER OF SITE, FRAMED BY LANDSCAPED PARK AND INTERIOR OF THE BUILDING
GARDENS, SOFTENS ITS IMPACT IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD, WHILE ALLOWING THE
POSSIBILITY OF FUTURE EXPANSION OF SMALLER INCREMENTS NEARER THE
PERIMETER OF THE SITE.

A LARGE PARK FACING THE CANAL DU MIDI ENHANCES THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND
PROVIDES A SETTING FOR THE BUILDING ALONG THE CANAL WHERE ONE CAN SEE
THE GREAT CURVED SECTION OF THE BUILDING AS A REFLECTION OF THE CURVE
INTERIOR OF ASSEMBLY HALL OF THE GARONNE IN THIS AREA, AS IT FLOWS TO THE SEA.

AERIAL VIEW
COVERED BRIDGES IN GLASS SPAN THE PEDESTRIAN STREET
CONNECTING THE TWO WINGS OF THE BUILDING AT TWO LOCATIONS.
THEY OFFER DRAMATIC VIEWS FROM WITHIN THE COMPLEX AND, BY
THEIR FORM AND SILHOUETTE, SERVE AS SYMBOLIC GATEWAYS TO THE
CIVIC CRESCENT.
DISTANT VIEWS OF THE BUILDING IN CONTEXT
THE COURTYARD
DECONSTRUCTIVISM
EVOLUTION
 DECONSTRUCTIVISM CAME TO PUBLIC NOTICE WITH
THE 1982 PARC DE LA VILLETTE ARCHITECTURAL
DESIGN COMPETITION (ESPECIALLY THE ENTRY FROM
JACQUES DERRIDA AND PETER EISENMAN AND
BERNARD TSCHUMI'S WINNING ENTRY).
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART‘S 1988
DECONSTRUCTIVIST ARCHITECTURE EXHIBITION IN
NEW YORK, ORGANIZED BY PHILIP JOHNSON AND
MARK WIGLEY.
AND THE 1989 OPENING OF THE WEXNER CENTER
FOR THE ARTS IN COLUMBUS, DESIGNED BY PETER
EISENMAN.
ARCHITECTS PRACTICING DECONSTRUCTIVISM ARE-
FRANK GEHRY, DANIEL LIBESKIND, REM KOOLHAAS,
PETER EISENMAN, ZAHA HADID, COOP HIMMELB(L)AU,
AND BERNARD TSCHUMI.
INTRODUCTION
 DECONSTRUCTIVISM IS A DEVELOPMENT OF POSTMODERN ARCHITECTURE THAT
BEGAN IN THE LATE 1980S.
 IT IS INFLUENCED BY THE THEORY OF "DECONSTRUCTION‖ , WHICH IS A FORM OF
SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS.
CHRACTERISTICS
 IT IS CHARACTERIZED BY FRAGMENTATION, AN INTEREST IN MANIPULATING A
STRUCTURE'S SURFACE OR SKIN, NON-RECTILINEAR SHAPES WHICH APPEAR TO
DISTORT AND DISLOCATE ELEMENTS OF ARCHITECTURE, SUCH AS STRUCTURE
AND ENVELOPE.
THE FINISHED VISUAL APPEARANCE OF BUILDINGS THAT EXHIBIT
DECONSTRUCTIVIST "STYLES" IS CHARACTERIZED BY UNPREDICTABILITY AND
CONTROLLED CHAOS.
CHARACTERISTICS
DECONSTRUCTIVISM ATTEMPTS TO MOVE AWAY FROM THE SUPPOSEDLY
CONSTRICTING 'RULES' OF MODERNISM SUCH AS "FORM FOLLOWS
FUNCTION," "PURITY OF FORM," AND "TRUTH TO MATERIALS.―
IT WAS INFLUENCED BY THE FORMAL EXPERIMENTATION AND GEOMETRIC
IMBALANCES OF RUSSIAN CONSTRUCTIVISM.
FRANK OWEN GEHRY
ARCHITECTURAL
STYLE
 DECONSTRUCTIVISM IS FOLLOWED
IN HIS BUILDINGS.
 THE STRUCTURES DOES NOT
REFLECTS SOCIAL OR UNIVERSAL
IDEAS LIKE SPEED OR UNIVERSALITY
OF FORM.
POST-STRUCTURALISM AS HIS
DESIGNS HAS ABILITY TO GO BEYOND
CURENT MODALITIES OF
STRUCTURAL DEFINITION.
 GEHRY‘S STYLE AT TIMES SEEMS
UNFINISHED OR EVEN CRUDE.
BUT HIS WORK IS CONSISTENT WITH
THE CALIFORNIA "FUNK" ART
MOVEMENT IN THE 1960S AND EARLY
1970S.
THE MOVEMENT FEATURED THE USE
OF INEXPENSIVE FOUND OBJECTS
AND NON-TRADITIONAL MEDIA SUCH
AS CLAY TO MAKE SERIOUS ART.
SOME FAMOUS
WORKS
INTRODUCTION
FRANK OWEN GEHRY, (BORN FEBRUARY 28, 1929) IS A CANADIAN-AMERICAN PRITZKER PRIZE-
WINNING ARCHITECT BASED IN LOS ANGELES.
• HIS BUILDINGS, INCLUDING HIS PRIVATE RESIDENCE, HAVE BECOME TOURIST ATTRACTIONS.
• HIS WORKS ARE CITED AS BEING AMONG THE MOST IMPORTANT WORKS OF CONTEMPORARY
ARCHITECTURE IN THE 2010 WORLD ARCHITECTURE SURVEY, WHICH LED VANITY FAIR TO
LABEL HIM AS "THE MOST IMPORTANT ARCHITECT OF OUR AGE".
EARLY CAREER:
 IT WAS HIS PRIVATE RESIDENCE IN SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA, THAT JUMP-STARTED HIS
CAREER, LIFTING IT FROM THE STATUS OF "PAPER ARCHITECTURE"—A PHENOMENON THAT
MANY FAMOUS ARCHITECTS HAVE EXPERIENCED IN THEIR FORMATIVE DECADES THROUGH
EXPERIMENTATION ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY ON PAPER BEFORE RECEIVING THEIR FIRST MAJOR
COMMISSION IN LATER YEARS.
THE GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM IN
THE TOWER AT 8 SPRUCE STREET IN
BILBAO, SPAIN WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL
DANCING HOUSE IN
LOWER MANHATTAN PRAGUE
FRANK OWEN GEHRY
GEHRY‘S RESIDENCE
INTRODUCTION
THE GEHRY RESIDENCE IS FRANK GEHRY'S OWN HOUSE.
IT WAS ORIGINALLY AN EXTENSION, DESIGNED BY GEHRY, BUILT AROUND THE EXISTING
HOUSE.
THE GEHRY RESIDENCE IS LOCATED IN SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA. IN 1977, FRANK AND
BERTA GEHRY BOUGHT A PINK BUNGALOW THAT WAS ORIGINALLY BUILT IN 1920.
 GEHRY WANTED TO EXPLORE WITH THE MATERIALS HE WAS ALREADY USING: METAL,
PLYWOOD, CHAIN LINK FENCING, AND WOOD FRAMING.
IN 1978, HE CHOSE TO WRAP THE OUTSIDE OF THE HOUSE WITH A NEW EXTERIOR WHILE
STILL LEAVING THE OLD EXTERIOR VISIBLE.
HE HARDLY TOUCHED THE REAR AND SOUTH FACADES AND TO THE OTHER SIDES OF THE
VIEW OF GEHRY RESIDENCE HOUSE HE WEDGED IN TITLED GLASS CUBES.
GENERAL INFORMATION
CHARACETRISTICS:
TYPE HOUSE
ARCHITECTURAL IT MAKES USE OF UNCONVENTIONAL MATERIALS SUCH AS CHAIN LINK FENCES AND
DECONSTRUCTIVIST CORRUGATED STEEL.
STYLE
 IT IS SOMETIMES CONSIDERED ONE OF THE EARLIEST DECONSTRUCTIVIST BUILDINGS,
SANTA MONICA, ALTHOUGH GEHRY HIMSELF DENIES THAT IT WAS DECONSTRUCTIVISM.
LOCATION
CALIFORNIA
DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
ARCHITECT FRANK GEHRY
CONSTRUCTION 1978

GROUND FLOOR PLAN OF THE GEHRY‘S RESIDENCE 3D VIEW OF THE HOUSE

AXNOMETRIC VIEW OF THE HOUSE

FIRST FLOOR PLAN
ELEVATION OF THE HOUSE
FRANK OWEN GEHRY
GEHRY‘S RESIDENCE
 GEHRY ACTUALLY DID KEEP THE EXISTING HOUSE ALMOST
COMPLETELY IN TACT, BUT NOT IN A CONVENTIONAL MANNER.
THE DUTCH COLONNIAL HOME WAS LEFT IN TACT AND THE NEW
HOUSE WAS BUILT AROUND IT.
HOLES WERE MADE, WALLS WERE STRIPPED, TORN DOWN AND
PUT UP, AND THE OLD QUIET HOUSE BECAME A LOUD SHRIEK OF
CONTEMPORARY STYLE AMONG THE NEIGHBORING MANSIONS.
 NEIGHBORS HATED IT, BUT THAT DID NOT CHANGE THE FACT DESIGN OF THE RESIDENCE
THAT THE HOUSE WAS A STATEMENT OF ART ENTWINED WITH
 THE ENTRANCE IS BARELY DISCERNIBLE AMIDST THE JUTTING
ARCHITECTURE.
ANGLES OF THE EXTERIOR, WHICH GEHRY CREATED FROM WOOD,
GLASS, ALUMINUM, AND CHAIN-LINK FENCING.
 THE APEX OF THE OLD HOUSE PEEKS OUT FROM WITHIN THIS MIX
OF MATERIALS, GIVING THE IMPRESSION THAT THE HOUSE IS
CONSISTENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
EVEN THOUGH GEHRY TRIED TO MAINTAIN THE SAME STYLE OF
THE HOUSE, ALLOWING THE ORIGINAL DESIGN TO DETERMINE
THAT OF THE ADDITION, THE HOUSE WENT THROUGH SIGNIFICANT
CHANGES.
THE RESIDENCE BECAME MUCH MORE ―FINISHED‖.

GEHRY‘S IDEAS ABOUT THE RESIDENCE

―I LOVED THE IDEA OF LEAVING THE HOUSE INTACT… I CAME UP WITH THE
IDEA OF BUILDING THE NEW HOUSE AROUND IT. WE WERE TOLD THERE
WERE GHOSTS IN THE HOUSE… I DECIDED THEY WERE GHOSTS OF
CUBISM. THE WINDOWS… I WANTED TO MAKE THEM LOOK LIKE THEY WERE
CRAWLING OUT OF THIS THING. AT NIGHT, BECAUSE THIS GLASS IS TIPPED
IT MIRRORS THE LIGHT IN… SO WHEN YOU‘RE SITTING AT THIS TABLE YOU
SEE ALL THESE CARS GOING BY, YOU SEE THE MOON IN THE WRONG
PLACE… THE MOON IS OVER THERE BUT IT REFLECTS HERE… AND YOU
THINK IT‘S UP THERE AND YOU DON‘T KNOW WHERE THE HELL YOU ARE…‖ –
FRANK GEHRY

VIEWS OF GEHRY RESIDENCE

FRANK OWEN GEHRY
WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL
INTRODUCTION
 THE WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL IN DOWNTOWN OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, IS
THE FOURTH HALL OF THE LOS ANGELES MUSIC CENTER AND WAS DESIGNED BY FRANK
GEHRY.
 IT OPENED ON OCTOBER 24, 2003, IT SEATS 2,265 PEOPLE AND SERVES (AMONG OTHER
PURPOSES) AS THE HOME OF THE LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA AND THE
LOS ANGELES MASTER CHORALE.
BOTH GEHRY'S ARCHITECTURE AND THE ACOUSTICS OF THE CONCERT HALL,
DESIGNED BY YASUHISA TOYOTA, HAVE BEEN PRAISED, IN CONTRAST TO ITS
PREDECESSOR, THE DOROTHY CHANDLER PAVILION.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
LOCATION
U.S.A.
TYPE CONCERT HALL
BUILT 1999–2003
OPENED OCTOBER 24, 2003
$130 MILLION (PLUS $110
CONSTRUCTION
MILLION FOR PARKING
COST
GARAGE)
SEATING TYPE RESERVED

CAPACITY 2,265 INITIAL SKETCH OF THE HALL BY GEHRY

ARCHITECT FRANK OWEN GEHRY

SITE PLAN OF HALL
 THE PROJECT WAS LAUNCHED IN 1987, WHEN LILLIAN DISNEY,
WIDOW OF WALT DISNEY, DONATED $50 MILLION.
 FRANK GEHRY DELIVERED COMPLETED DESIGNS IN 1991.
 CONSTRUCTION OF THE UNDERGROUND PARKING GARAGE BEGAN
IN 1992 AND WAS COMPLETED IN 1996.
ADDITIONAL FUNDS WERE REQUIRED SINCE THE CONSTRUCTION
COST OF THE FINAL PROJECT FAR EXCEEDED THE ORIGINAL
BUDGET. PLANS WERE REVISED, AND IN A COST-SAVING MOVE THE
ORIGINALLY DESIGNED STONE EXTERIOR WAS REPLACED WITH A
LESS COSTLY METAL SKIN.
SITE PLAN OF HALLSEATING PLAN OF THE HALL VIEW OF THE CONCERT HALL
FRANK OWEN GEHRY
WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL
 THE STAINLESS STEEL CURVES OF THE WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL BY
FRANK GEHRY SHINE IN THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SUN.
THEY SHINE IN QUICK FLASHES GLIMPSED THROUGH NONDESCRIPT HIGH-
RISES, THROWING FORTUITOUS REFLECTIONS AMONG THE SHADOWS.
 THE TALLER FORMS STRETCH UP AND OUT TOWARD THE CITY, WHILE THE
LOWER FORMS BEND DOWN TOWARD PASSERS BY.
THE BUILDING IS A STUNNING PIECE OF ARCHITECTURE, RIPE FOR
METAPHORIC INTERPRETATIONS RANGING FROM BLOOMING FLOWER TO
SAILING SHIP.
THE MAIN AUDITORIUM, DESIGNED BY YASUHISA TOYOTA OF NAGATA
ACOUSTICS, IS BEING LAUDED FOR ITS ACOUSTIC QUALITY.
THE BUILDING'S VERY EXISTENCE IS A MIRACLE OF LOGISTICS AND
PERSEVERANCE.

FEW IMAGES OF THE HALL

DESIGN AND ACOUSTICS OF THE HALL

 THE WALLS OF THE THEATRE, JUST LIKE THE EXTERIOR, LACK RIGHT ANGLES AND FLAT SHAPES.
 THE BACK OF THE HALL BEHIND THE STAGE IS MADE OF THE SAME WOOD AS THE SIDEWALLS AND THE
ROOF BUT HAS DIFFERENT SHAPE AND DESIGN.
 SOME OF THE WALLS OF THE HALL HAVE FABRIC ON THEM THAT ARE COVERED BY SMALL 1X1 WOOD
SQUARES THAT ACT AS DIFFUSERS.
CONVEX—OR OUTWARDLY BULGING—CURVES CANTHE COMBINATION OF REFLECTIVE AND ABSORPTIVE MATERIALS USED IN THE HALL MAKES FOR A
BE VERY EFFECTIVE, BOUNCING AND DISPERSING ROOM THAT IS A PERFECT BALANCE.
SOUND WAVES PRODUCED BY AN ORCHESTRA.

THE FLOOR OF THE STAGE IS MADE OUT OF BEAUTIFUL CEDAR WOOD AND FEATURES FOUR
CONCENTRIC CIRCLES THAT ARE SET ON RISERS, WHICH CAN BE RAISED OR LOWERED WITH LIFTS
UNDER THE STAGE.
THIS ALLOWS A GREAT DEAL OF FLEXIBILITY IN PERFORMANCES AS DIFFERENT SECTIONS OF THE
ORCHESTRA CAN BE PLACED HIGHER THAN OTHERS SO THEY CAN BE HEARD MORE EASILY.
THE BOTTOMS OF THE CHAIRS WERE SPECIFICALLY CREATED TO HAVE FABRIC ON THE BOTTOM
PANELS RATHER THAN METAL.