After Modernism I

The Emergence of Post-Modernism

•Postmodern architecture began as an international style whose first examples are
generally cited as being from the 1950s, but did not become a movement until the
late 1970s and continues to influence present-day architecture.
•1960s - the emergence of Post-Modernism, a way of thinking of architecture that is
quite different from the approach of International Style designers.
•“Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture”, Robert Venturi, 1966 made the case
for non-straightforward architecture and glorified Baroque architecture.
•Venturi ( postmodernist) opined that "LESS IS A BORE", inverting Mies Van Der Rohe's
(modernist) dictum that "LESS IS MORE“.
• POSTMODERNISM – international architectural
movement that emerged in the 1960s, became
prominent in the late 1970s and 80s, and remained a
dominant force in the 1990s.
• Postmodernist movement is often seen as an American
movement, starting in USA around the 1960s–1970s
and then spreading to Europe and the rest of the
world
• The movement largely has been a reaction against the
austerity, simplicity and functional design approach of
the modern architecture/international style
• modernism is rooted in minimal and true use of
material as well as absence of ornament. AT&T building in New York City,1984
• Rejection of strict rules set by the early modernists and by Philip Johnson, illustrating a "Postmodern"
spin with the inclusion of a classical broken
seeks high spirits in the use of building techniques,
pediment on the top which deviated from
angles, and stylistic references. Modern Architecture
 • The aims of Postmodernism or Late-modernism begin
with its reaction to Modernism; it tries to address the
limitations of its predecessor.
• The list of aims is extended to include communicating
ideas with the public often in a witty way. The
communication is done by quoting extensively from past
architectural styles, often many at once.
• Postmodernism has its origins in the perceived failure of
Modern Architecture; its preoccupation with
functionalism and economical building which failed to
meet the human need for comfort both for body and for
the eye.
• In response, postmodern architects sought to reintroduce
ornament, color, decoration and human scale to
buildings. Form was no longer to be defined solely by its
functional requirements or minimal appearance.
City Hall, Canada , 1987
CHARACTERISTICS OF POSTMODERNISM
• Postmodern Architecture rejects the notion of “pure” or
“perfect” form, instead it draws from all methods, materials,
forms & colours available to architects.
• Moves away from the neutral white colours seen in
modernism.
• Return of "WIT(intelligent humor), ORNAMENT AND
REFERENCE(past sources)“.
• Took past components of different styles and blended them
together to create new means of design. It is known for the re-
emergence of surface ornament, reference to its surrounding
buildings, and historical references.
• Revival of traditional elements and techniques.
• Post modernists looked into past architecture in order to learn Team Disney – The Eisner Building,
1991 Michael Graves,
from it. Classical designs such as pillars, arches, and domes
used in new, almost humorous ways, just to send a message to
the modernist people.
• It favoured personal preferences and variety over objective
truths and principles.
• Sensitivity to the building’s context, history and the client’s
requirements.
• physical characteristics- the use of sculptural forms, ornaments and
anthropomorphism.
• conceptual characteristics - pluralism, double coding, high ceilings,
irony, paradox & contextualism.
• Used classical styles in new combinations pillars, arches, domes, curtain
wall facades, sculptures and roman conventions
Bank of America Center in Houston, by
John Burgee and Philip Johnson,
completed 1983

Piazza d’Italia, New Orleans, 1976-1980.

CHARLES MOORE,
Hood Museum of Art at the campus
of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New
Hampshire (1983)
has a typical symmetrical façade which
was at the time prevalent
throughout Postmodern Buildings.
Similar to old cathedrals, draws the eye upwards toward the sky
Reconciled differences between old and new generations (culture wars) Postmodern
architecture takes old styles and updates them
 Vanna Venturi House, Robert Venturi
Vanna Venturi House with its split gable.
The façade is, according to Venturi, a symbolic picture of a
house, looking back to the 18th century. This is partly achieved
through the use of symmetry and the arch over the entrance.
The Post-Modern Architects
• Michael Graves
• Robert Venturi
• Charles Moore
Michael Graves
Michael Graves
• Graves describes his work as
‘figurative’, with the figural elements
traceable to ‘classical and
anthropomorphic sources’.
• The Portland Building in Portland,
Oregon (1980) is replete with
quotations from the classical language.
• The temples on the roof (never built),
the giant keystone beneath them, the
pair of fluted pilasters of indeterminate
order, and the tiered stylobate at street
level.

The Portland Building in Portland, Oregon

(1980)
• Graves was also a force in reintroducing color
into 20th c architecture, as here with the green
base, terracotta-colored columns, and tan
flanking walls punctured by square windows.
Disney's Dolphin and Swan Hotels - Design by Michael Graves for
the most postmodern of theme parks.
 A Private Residence

Celebration Florida Fire Station

Team Disney –
The Eisner Building
Robert Venturi
• Robert charles venturi, (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
• He is also known for coining the maxim "less is a bore" a
postmodern antidote to mies van der rohe's famous Robert charles venturi
modernist dictum "less is more".

• He wrote the book “complexity and

contradiction in architecture” which
changed people’s view about architecture
• Venturi's buildings typically contrast
architectural systems, elements and aims,
to acknowledge the conflicts often
inherent in a project or site
• Robert venturi is known for incorporating
stylized cultural icons into his buildings.
Vanna venturi house,(1964), pennsylvania
• However, venturi is recognized for much
more than postmodernist designs.
• The firm has completed more than 400
projects, each uniquely suited to the
special needs of the clients.

Guild house, (1964), philadelphia

 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.
• 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.
• The house is designed around a chimney that is centralised and
goes all the way to the top of the house.
• Externally, they house is built symmetrical.
• Venturi has distorted this idea of symmetry.
• There is also a basement underneath the house that is often not
uncovered by people.
• The basic elements of the house are against 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 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 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.
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.
• The building consists of an administrative and legislative complex including offices,
the legislative assembly chamber, public services, various public and governmental
support spaces, three levels of underground parking for public and staff, and
outdoor and indoor ceremonial spaces.
• Today the capitole houses the city hall, as well as the théâtre du capitole de
toulouse opera company and a symphony orchestra.
• 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 crescent-shaped public
space along this civic street, the focus of 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
Charles Moore
Charles Moore brought to Post-
Modernism a gentle but studied
playfulness that made his
buildings immediately accessible
to the public and professionals
alike. Moore took pleasure in
historical allusions, but with
large doses of whimsy.
The Piazza d’Italia in New
Orleans (1975-79) consists of a
flamboyant, wildly Ne0-Classical,
neon-outlined, scenographic
backdrop for a contour map of
Italy set in a pool of water that is
demarcated by concentric rings
of marble paving. It is much
spectacle as architecture.
Postmodern classicism – ideas of urbanism
 Paolo Soleri (1919-2013)
• Paolo Soleri, the founder of Arcosanti ,through his work as an
architect, urban designer, artist, craftsman, and philosopher, Paolo
Soleri explored the countless possibilities of human aspiration.
• One outstanding endeavor is Arcosanti, an urban laboratory,
constructed in the Arizona high desert.
• It attempts to test and demonstrate an alternative human habitat
which is greatly needed in this increasingly perplexing world.
• This project also exemplifies his steadfast devotion to creating an
experiential space to "prototype" an environment in harmony
with man.
• In his philosophy "arcology” (architecture + ecology), Soleri
formulated a path that may aid us on our evolutionary journey
toward a state of aesthetic, equity, and compassion.
• For more than a half century, his work, marked by a broad-ranging
and coherent intellect, has influenced many in search of a new
paradigm for our built environment.
 GLENDALE COMMUNITY COLLEGE AMPHITHEATER Glendale, Arizona (1996)
This siltcast structure was built for an outdoor venue for the student body at the GCC. The facade was
precast on the ground and erected. The rough texture of the inside apse was given to accomodate
accoustic consideration

PAOLO SOLERI THEATER Santa Fe, New Mexico (1966)

Commissioned by the Institute of American Indian Arts and built on the Indian School compound in
Santa Fe, New Mexco. This outdoor amphitheater features Soleri's siltcast technique, enabling fluid
forms with vernacular textures.

CERAMICA ARTISTICA SOLIMENE Vietri Sul Mare (1953)

When Soleri settled in the Solimene Ceramics Factory on the Amalfi Coast to pursue his interest in
ceramics, asked by the owner, Soleri produced architectural solutions to the spatial needs of artists
where aesthetic, crafts, and production meet.

DOME HOUSE Cave Creek, Arizona (1949)

Registered in the State Register of Historic Places, this first building Soleri built with his friend
Mark Mills for Mrs. Woods in 1950, features an eyeball (glass dome) looking at the sky capturing
the desert ambience while most of the building is below grade.
 TRAFFIC INTERCHANGE Cordes Junction, Arizona (2011-2013)
This project was initiated by the ADOT (Arizona Department of Transportation)
working closely with the neighbouring communities to radically improve the
traffic interchange at Arcosanti door step. Soleri was asked to add his design
elements to some of the bridge wing wall.

SOLERI BRIDGE AND PLAZA Scottsdale, Arizona (2010)

A 100-foot stainless-steel pedestrian bridge, acts as a solar calendar, producing a shaft of
light from the plaza to the bridge deck to mark the equinox, solstice and cross-quarter
dates. The plaza features earthcast panels, drip walls and a Soleri bell assembly.
• Italian-American architect Paolo Soleri (21 June 1919 – 9 April 2013) made his name as a countercultural icon
and urban visionary, best known for his theory of "arcology" - a combination of architecture and ecology - and
for Arcosanti, the prototype town in the Arizona desert which embodied his ideals and became his life's work,
which he founded in 1970 and continued to work on right up until his death in 2013.
• Born in Turin, Italy, Soleri gained his master's degree from the Politecnico di Torino in 1946, traveling to
the USA shortly afterward to study under Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin.
• In 1948, Soleri gained international attention after his design for the "Beast Bridge" was included in Elizabeth
Mock's book "The Architecture of Bridges," published by the Museum of Modern Art.
• Soleri moved his family to Arizona in 1956, and in 1970 he began construction on his life's work, Arcosanti.
• For four decades, Soleri oversaw the construction of his experimental city, with construction almost entirely
carried out by over 6,000 volunteers who have, at some point over the project's forty-years, lived at the city and
learned from Soleri.
• Much of the construction was created using "earth casting," a process developed by Soleri in which concrete
elements are cast using the ground as formwork.
• Today, Arcosanti consists of 13 buildings and, at any one time, houses around 100 people - far short of Soleri's
vision of 5,000 citizens.
• However despite his death, the Arcosanti project continues, funded by the Cosanti Foundation which Soleri
established in 1965 - which is in turn funded in part by the sale of Soleri-designed ceramic and bronze wind-
bells.
Archigram
• Archigram was formed in 1960 at the Architecture Association in London by
six architects and designers, Peter Cook, Warren Chalk, Ron Herron, Dennis
Crompton, Michael Webb and David Greene.
• In 1961, Archigram (an eponymous publication whose name was derived
from the combination of the words “architecture” + “telegram”) was born as
a single sheet magazine filled with poems and sketches.
• As David Greene wrote in the first issue, it was meant as a platform for the
voices of a young generation of architects and artists: “A new generation of
architecture must arise with forms and spaces which seem to reject the
precepts of ‘Modern’ yet in fact retains those precepts.
• Archigram’s visions did in fact succeed in inspiring a new generation of
architects and architecture.
• Most obviously, their radical suggestion to reveal infrastructural elements and reverse
traditional building hierarchies inspired the famous Pompidou Center by Richard
Rogers and Renzo Piano, and their drawings and visions continue to be invoked in urban
thinking today.
• Between 1960 and 1974 Archigram created over 900 drawings, among them the plan for
the “Plug-in City” by Peter Cook.
• This provocative project suggests a hypothetical fantasy city, containing modular residential
units that “plug in” to a central infrastructural mega machine.
• The Plug-in City is in fact not a city, but a constantly evolving megastructure that
incorporates residences, transportation and other essential services--all movable by giant
cranes.
• Persistent precedents and concerns of modernism lay at the heart of Plug-In City’s
theoretical impulse, not limited to the concept of collective living, integration of
transportation and the accommodation of rapid change in the urban environment.
Persistent precedents and concerns of modernism lay at the heart of Plug-In City’s theoretical
impulse, not limited to the concept of collective living, integration of transportation and the
accommodation of rapid change in the urban environment.
METABOLISM
• A special place in the history of structuralism takes
metabolism, named after a group of Japanese architects
working under the direction of Kenzo Tange.
• In 1960, Tange presented the plan to build a new
neighborhood on artificial islands and the footbridge
stretched over the bay near Tokyo.
• The plan resembles a tree trunk from which branches sprout
leaves covered with residential buildings - and this is the
essence of metabolism, binding individual living spaces with
the "bloodstream" of infrastructure and communications.
• The same concept was realized in one of the few metabolic
buildings - Nagakin skyscraper in Tokyo (Kisho Kurokawa,
1972), in which the capsule housing are attached to the stem
of the building as a Brussels sprouts.
• These self-contained steel capsule can be mounted to the
supporting structure in a way that enables them to exchange
and move, and therefore almost any conversion of the
building. Kenzo Tange, Plan for Tokyo, 1960
• This is consistent with the Buddhist vision of continuous
volatility of the world.
• Another design presented at the Expo-67 gave rise
to awe the audience and futuristic Utopian hopes.
• It was the Montreal Biosphere, designed by
Buckminster Fuller, who developed and
implemented the concept of geodesic domes
designed by German engineer Walther
Bauersfeld.
• This ideal, geometric form has become
synonymous with universe, a symbol of Earth and
inspired eco-architect, who has repeatedly tried to
create visions of the environment independent of
the moods of climate.
• These visions were not realized, but the Biosphere
has become a symbol of modern architecture, and
its example is the roof of the Golden Terraces next
Buckminster Fuller, Montreal Biosphere, 1967
to Warsaw Central Station.
Geodesic structure of the Golden's Terrace in Warsaw