Walter Frank

Gropius Lloyd
Wright

Mies Van
Der Rohe
Le Corbusier

MODERNIST Alvar Aalto Richard Neutra

ARCHITECTS AND UNIT 4

THEIR WORKS
 Walter Frank
Gropius Lloyd
Wright

SYLLABUS Mies Van

Le Corbusier Der Rohe

• Ideas, works and evolution of Alvar Aalto

Gropius, Corbusier, Aalto, Richard Neutra

Wright, Mies, Neutra.

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CONSULTANTS
WALTER GROPIUS
• Walter Gropius, German-American architect, educator, and
designer (1883-1969) and he was director of the famed Bauhaus
in Germany from 1919 to 1928 and occupied the chair of
architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design
from 1938 to 1952.
• Walter Gropius was born in Berlin on May 18, 1883. Although he
studied architecture in Berlin and Munich (1903-1907), he
received no degree.
• He then went to work in Berlin for Peter Behrens, who was
influenced by the British Arts and Crafts movement and who
attempted to go further by adapting good design to machine
production.
WORKS OF WALTER GROPIUS
• BAUHAUS UNIVERSITY
• FAGUS FACTORY, GERMANY
• GROPIUS HOUSE
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CONSULTANTS
WALTER GROPIUS
FAGUS FACTORY, GERMANY
• Fagus factory was the first industrial commission for Walter Gropius
and its design was made in collaboration with who at that time was his
partner Adolf Meyer.
• According to Gropius, without masking the exact shape, with clear
contrasts, sequencing of identical forms and the unity of form and
colour forms the basis of the rhythm of architectural creation.
• In this building are embodied these ideas, a prismatic block, three plants
with rectangular and flat base which reinforced concrete structure with
brackets displaced inward frees the exterior walls of any load bearing
plant which clearly expressed their interest modern commercial and
functional elements.
• The first block designed by Gropius to the shoe factory was the office
and was one of the most important and characteristic of the
complex.
• The building has three floors with a flat roof which together with the
replacement of the walls with large windows, which in turn also made
up the corners of the building, became one of the building systems FIRSTUP
characteristic of the modern movement. 4
CONSULTANTS
WALTER GROPIUS
FAGUS FACTORY, GERMANY
• The facade is articulated with narrow brick
pillars, slightly recessed, which were placed
between the iron frames sticking out of the
building and housed the large windows
creating a light curtain wall, creating an
inner space with natural light and partly
diluting indoor-outdoor boundaries.
• It is particularly striking resolution of the
corners of the block as they converge on two
windows perpendicular to the unique presence
in them of the light metal support bar.
• According to Gropius, the factory should be a
kind of palace for the workers who were
offered light, air and hygienic atmosphere but
also "feel the dignity of the great common
idea, which of course would improve their
performance".
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CONSULTANTS
WALTER GROPIUS
FAGUS FACTORY, GERMANY
• The Fagus Factory is a complex with many buildings, which contain various
functions such as manufacturing, storage, and offices, and Gropius felt it was
important to design an exterior design aesthetic that could be applied to various
structures.
• The use of brick — more specifically, a 40-centimeter high, dark brick base
which projects 4-centimeters from the facade — can be seen repeatedly
throughout the complex.
• The most architecturally-significant aspect of Gropius’ contribution to the project is
the office building. Unlike the other buildings, this flat-roof, three-story building
features a façade that is comprised of more glass than brick. Instead of conventional
load-bearing exterior walls, Gropius had made the bold and innovative decision to
place reinforced concrete columns inside the building to free the façade.
• A series of brick piers suspend iron frames between that supports glass inserts. Metal
panels were placed within the iron frame to conceal the floor slabs behind. The most
innovative feature of the building is the fully glazed exterior corners, which are free
of structural elements. The exterior design of the office building effectively
demonstrated Gropius’ ambition to improve interior conditions while exposing
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contemporary construction techniques as an architectural image. CONSULTANTS 6
WALTER GROPIUS
FAGUS FACTORY, GERMANY
• Gropius felt that exterior design
should reveal the construction
logic of a building. It would
become his mandate to discover
artistic solutions of constructing
industrial buildings in a variety of
contexts.
• Production hall:-The two other
large buildings in the complex are
the production hall and warehouse.
Both were built in 1911 and
expanded in 1913. The production
hall is a one-story building that
became the present facade after
enlargement. The store is a four-
story building with few openings.

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CONSULTANTS
WALTER GROPIUS
GROPIUS HOUSE, MASSACHUSETTS
• 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 .
• This house was his first architectural
commission did in 1937, when he came to
teach at Harvard University's Graduate
School of Design, and it was built in 1938.
• The house caused a sensation when built. In
keeping with Bauhaus philosophy, every
aspect of the house and its surrounding
landscape was planned for maximum
efficiency and simplicity. Gropius carefully
sited the house to complement its New
England habitat on a rise within an orchard
of 90 apple trees.
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CONSULTANTS
WALTER GROPIUS
GROPIUS HOUSE, MASSACHUSETTS
• Set amid fields, forests, and farmhouses, 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.
• Its detailing keeps strongly to the principles of
the Bauhaus, which Gropius had founded and
directed in Germany, exploiting simple, well-
designed but mass-produced fittings for steel
wall lights, chromed banisters etc., as well as in
the structure of the house (glass block walls
complementing the wooden frame and New FIRSTUP 9
England clapboarding). CONSULTANTS
 WALTER GROPIUS
GROPIUS HOUSE, MASSACHUSETTS
• The lighting in the dining room, for
example, mixes a single art-gallery
spotlight recessed in the ceiling, whose
beam exactly covers the circular table but
not the diners; a second spotlight in the
study, backlighting the glass-block wall
between the two rooms and silhouetting
the sprawling plant that climbs the glass
wall; and exterior floodlights illuminating
the trees in the garden.
• Gropius uses interior clapboard for
further ingenious lighting effects: set
vertically on the walls of the entrance
hall, the angle of each overlapping board
stops light, rather than rain, reaching the
near edge of its neighbour; the result is an
appealing pattern of shadows generated
by the contrastingly simple mass-
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produced wall lights. CONSULTANTS 10
WALTER GROPIUS
Bauhaus, Dessau, Germany
• The Bauhaus, an art and architectural school, was founded in the
year 1919. Although the school was forced to close its doors
when the Nazi's came to power, its ideas and philosophy are still
influencing the world. The name "Bauhaus" derives from the
word "bauen" meaning to build and "haus" meaning the house
or building itself.
• Following the war and Germany's defeat-inspired desire for a
renaissance, the Bauhaus sought to define a new "style" as
international school dealing with international politics. Designed
by its director, Walter Gropius, the Bauhaus remains today one
of the most impressive examples of modern architecture.
• There was a delightful sense of camaraderie among the
members of the Bauhaus, all seeking a new way of life. The
Bauhaus perhaps represents one of the greatest ideas that have
arisen in the field of education in this century where the main
principles of cooperation and creativity were brought rigorously
into everything purported by the school that detested traditional
academicism. FIRSTUP 11
CONSULTANTS
WALTER GROPIUS
Bauhaus, Dessau, Germany
• Initially a school in Weimar, growing political
resentment forced the move to Dessau. Gropius
took this as an opportunity to build a school that
reflected his hopes for the education that would
be had within it's walls. The style of
the Dessau facilities hints at the more futuristic
style of Gropius in 1914, also showing
similarities to the International style more than
the Neo-classic style.
• The extensive facilities in the plans of
the Bauhaus at Dessau include spaces for
teaching, housing for students and faculty
members, an auditorium and offices, which
were fused together in a pinwheel
configuration. From the aerial view, this layout
hints at the form of airplane propellers, which
were largely manufactured in the surrounding
areas of Dessau. FIRSTUP 12
CONSULTANTS
 Workshop Block
WALTER GROPIUS
Administration Bridge
Bauhaus, Dessau, Germany

Auditorium & Canteen

Dormitory
Technical College

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CONSULTANTS
WALTER GROPIUS
Bauhaus, Dessau, Germany
• The housing units and school building are
connected through a wing to create easy access
to the assembly hall and dining rooms. The
educational wing contains administration and
classrooms, staff room, library, physics
laboratory, model rooms, fully finished
basement, raised ground-floor and two upper
floors.
• As a practiced architect, Gropius was interested
in including structural and technological
advancements as he designed this revolutionary
school for architecture and design students.
• Its national and international reputation grew as
an experimental and commercial laboratory for
design after 1927 as a hotbed of architecture
and urban design.

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CONSULTANTS
WALTER GROPIUS
Bauhaus, Dessau, Germany
• To incorporate the students of
the Bauhaus, the interior decoration
of the entire building was done by
the wall painting workshop, the
lighting fixtures by the metal
workshop, and the lettering by the
print shop. With
the Bauhaus building, Gropius
thoughtfully laid out his notion of
the building as a 'total work' of
compositional architecture.
• The huge curtain window facade of
the workshop building became an
integral part of the building's
design. Hoping to create
transparency, the wall emphasized
the 'mechanical' and open spatial
nature of the new architecture. FIRSTUP 15
CONSULTANTS
WALTER GROPIUS
Bauhaus, Dessau, Germany

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CONSULTANTS
LE CORBUSIER
• Le Corbusier (October 6, 1887 – August 27, 1965),
was an architect, designer, urbanist, and writer,
famous for being 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.
Five points of architecture
• Pilotis – reinforced concrete stilts.
• Free facade
• Open floor plan
• Horizontal strip windows
• Roof garden
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CONSULTANTS
LE CORBUSIER
WORKS
• VILLA SAVOYE, Poissy
• Notre Dame du Haut, Romchamp
• United Nations Headquarters, New York
• Palace of Justice, Chandigarh
• UNITED HABITATION
• CHANDIGARH ASSEMBLY BUILDING
• SHODAN HOUSE
• Mill Owners’ Association Building, Ahmedabad

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CONSULTANTS
LE CORBUSIER
Notre Damn Due Haut Chapel
• Notre damn due haut chapel is one of lecorbusier’s most
original , least controversial and widely admired building.
• The building is the relief from the severity and logic and
the international style , though if confirms with the
system of proportional dimensions ( modulor )
• The building demonstrated that the most rational of
architects could design , a building that is essentially
personal and poetic , a work of sculpture in concrete
which springs from faith nor reason.
• In the words of the architect ‘ I sought to create a place of
silence , of prayer , peace and inner joy. An experimental
form probably Inspired by the landscape.
• One can read in the forms the dual function he wanted to
give the building
• a small chapel for prayer / meditation.
• place of worship – vast crowd of pilgrims FIRSTUP 19
CONSULTANTS
LE CORBUSIER
Notre Damn Due Haut Chapel
• The idea of deep grotto for the small chapel – by effects of
soft , round masses that surround the observer and give
reassurance.
• Though the firm in no way correspond to that of a
traditional roman church, it had the same sacred
atmosphere , bulky volumes , thick walls , deep splays and
semi darkness. Thus it exhibits implicit bond with the
past.

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CONSULTANTS
 Notre Damn Due Haut Chapel
LE CORBUSIER

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CONSULTANTS
 Notre Damn Due Haut Chapel
LE CORBUSIER

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CONSULTANTS
LE CORBUSIER
Villa Savoye, Paris
• Completed in 1929, Villa Savoye is a modern take on a
French country house that celebrates and reacts to the
new machine age.
• The house single handedly transformed Le Corbusier’s
career as well as the principles of the International
Style; becoming one of the most important architectural
precedents in the history. Villa Savoye’s detachment
from its physical context lends its design to be
contextually integrated into the mechanistic/industrial
context of the early 20th century, conceptually defining
the house as a mechanized entity.
• Le Corbusier is famous for stating, “The house is a
machine for living.” This statement is not simply
translated into the design of a human scaled assembly
line; rather the design begins to take on innovative
qualities and advances found in other fields of industry,
in the name of efficien
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CONSULTANTS
LE CORBUSIER
Villa Savoye, Paris
• Villa savoye is in three levels . The stair and
ramp penetrate and link the three levels and
heighten the viewers' perception of forms in
space and light.
• The curved form of the entrance foyer reflects
the movement of the automobile.
• Ground floor has lobby and service area.
• From the interior of the vestibule , a ramp leads
to first floor – reception , bedroom etc.
• All the rooms receives the light from the
perimeter of the box. Suspended garden adjoins
the rooms
• From the garden the ramp leads to the roof and
solarium.
• There is spiral stair case from the pilotis to the
solarium. FIRSTUP 24
CONSULTANTS
LE CORBUSIER Villa Savoye, Paris

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CONSULTANTS
LE CORBUSIER
Villa Savoye, Paris
• Villa savoye is in three levels . The stair and
ramp penetrate and link the three levels and
heighten the viewers' perception of forms in
space and light.
• The curved form of the entrance foyer reflects
the movement of the automobile.
• Ground floor has lobby and service area.
• From the interior of the vestibule , a ramp leads
to first floor – reception , bedroom etc.
• All the rooms receives the light from the
perimeter of the box. Suspended garden adjoins
the rooms
• From the garden the ramp leads to the roof and
solarium.
• There is spiral stair case from the pilotis to the
solarium. FIRSTUP 26
CONSULTANTS
LE CORBUSIER
Ville Radieuse (The Radient City)
• Ville Radieuse (The Radiant City) is an
unrealized urban masterplan by Le
Corbusier, first presented in 1924 and published
in a book of the same name in 1933.
• Designed to contain effective means of
transportation, as well as an abundance of
green space and sunlight, Le Corbusier’s city
of the future would not only provide residents
with a better lifestyle, but would contribute to
creating a better society.
• Though radical, strict and nearly totalitarian in
its order, symmetry and standardization, Le
Corbusier’s proposed principles had an
extensive influence on modern urban
planning and led to the development of new
high-density housing typologies.

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CONSULTANTS
LE CORBUSIER Government Buildings

Ville Radieuse (The Radient City)

Bussiness Center
• The new city would contain prefabricated and
identical high-density skyscrapers, spread Railway Station and
across a vast green area and arranged in a Air Terminal
Cartesian grid, allowing the city to function as Hotel & Entertainment
a “living machine.”
• Le Corbusier explains: “The city of today is a
dying thing because its planning is not in the Housing
proportion of geometrical one fourth. The
result of a true geometrical lay-out is
repetition, The result of repetition is a
standard. The perfect form.”
• At the core of Le Corbusier’s plan stood the
notion of zoning: a strict division of the city Factories
into segregated commercial, business,
entertainment and residential areas. Warehouses

Heavy Industries
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CONSULTANTS
LE CORBUSIER
Ville Radieuse (The Radient City)
• The business district was located in the center, and
contained monolithic mega-skyscrapers, each reaching
a height of 200 meters and accommodating 500 to 800
thousand people.
• Located in the center of this civic district was the main
transportation deck, from which a vast underground
system of trains would transport citizens to and from the
surrounding housing districts.
• The housing districts would contain pre-fabricated
apartment buildings, known as “Unités.” Reaching a
height of 50 meters, a single Unité could accommodate
2,700 inhabitants and function as a vertical village:
catering and laundry facilities would be on the ground
floor, a kindergarden and a pool on the roof.
• Parks would exist between the Unités, allowing residents
with a maximum of natural daylight, a minimum of noise
and recreational facilities at their doorsteps.
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CONSULTANTS
LE CORBUSIER
The Radient City’s Influence – Unite d Habitation
• The Radiant City’s influence was not exclusive to the world of
urban planning. In 1947, Le Corbusier designed the Unité
d'Habitation in Marseille, which - inspired by The Radiant City’s
Unités - contained 337 apartments in a single building, along with
public facilities on the roof and ground floor.
• Due to the costs of steel production in the post-War economy, the
Unité d'Habitation was constructed of exposed concrete and
heralded the arrival of brutalist architecture. In the years that
followed, four similar buildings were erected in France
and Germany.
• This typology, which provided an answer to the Post-War housing
shortage, was further adapted around the world in countless
housing projects
• Today, in the aftermath of Modernism, Le Corbusier’s built cities
are hardly ever described as Utopias. In addition to this, the Unité-
inspired apartment blocks, which lie on the outskirts of nearly
every major city today, have become incubators of poverty and
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crime; most have been thoroughly remodeled or demolished. CONSULTANTS 30
ALVAR AALTO
Pioneer of Modern Architecture and Design
• Alvar Aalto (1898-1976) enjoyed an exceptionally rich and varied career as
an architect and designer, both at home in Finland and abroad.
• After qualifying as an architect from Helsinki Institute of Technology (later
Helsinki University of Technology and now part of the Aalto University) in
1921, Aalto set up his first architectural practice.
• His early works followed the tenets of Nordic Classicism, the predominant
style at that time. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, he made a number of
journeys to Europe on which he and his wife Aino Marsio, also an architect,
became familiar with the latest trends in Modernism and the International
Style.
• The pure Functionalist phase in Aalto’s work lasted for several years. It
enabled him to make an international breakthrough, largely because of Paimio
Sanatorium (1929-1933), an important Functionalist milestone.
• Aalto had adopted the principals of user-friendly, functional design in his
architecture. From the late 1930s onwards, the architectural expression of
Aalto’s buildings became enriched by the use of organic forms, natural
materials and increasing freedom in the handling of space. FIRSTUP 31
CONSULTANTS
ALVAR AALTO
Pioneer of Modern Architecture and Design
• It was characteristic of Aalto to treat each building as a complete work
of art – right down to the furniture and light fittings. In 1935, Artek
was formed to promote the growing production and sales of Aalto furniture.
• The design of his furniture combined practicality and aesthetics with series
production, following the main Artek idea of encouraging a more beautiful
everyday life in the home.
• From the 1950s onwards, Aalto’s architectural practice was employed
principally on the design of public buildings, such as Säynätsalo Town
Hall (1948-1952), the Jyväskylä Institute of Pedagogics, now the
University of Jyväskylä (1951-1957), and the House of Culture in
Helsinki (1952-1956).
• His urban design master plans represent larger projects than the buildings
mentioned above, the most notable schemes that were built being Seinäjoki
city centre (1956-1965/87), Rovaniemi city centre (1963-1976/88) and the
partly built Jyväskylä administrative and cultural centre (1970-1982)

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CONSULTANTS
ALVAR AALTO

The Paimio Sanatorium (1929-1933)

• Situated in Paimio, 30 kilometers from Turku
• Designed by architect Alvar Aalto (1898-1976)
• Completed in 1933
• Aino Aalto (1894-1949) took part in the
designing process
• Was a tuberculosis sanatorium until the 1960

The Paimio Sanatorium is considered to be one

of Alvar Aalto’s most important works. The
functionalist building was built as a
tuberculosis sanatorium. It is situated in the
middle of a beautiful pine forest and is an
impressive site up to this day
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CONSULTANTS
ALVAR AALTO
The Paimio Sanatorium (1929-1933)
• AN ARCHITECTURE COMPETITION for the
Paimio Sanatorium was arranged in 1928-1929
and Alvar Aalto’s functionalist design won. The
construction of the hospital area began in 1930, and the
complex comprising several buildings was finished
three years later.
• The hospital was built onto the highest point of a pine
forest in Paimio, Finland. In addition to the main
building, the buildings include the senior physician’s
house, row houses, the morgue known as the Rose
Cellar, garages and other technical spaces. More row
houses for nurses and a new heating plant were built
later.
• Alvar Aalto designed the Paimio Sanatorium according
to the principles of functionalism. The foremost
purpose of the building and its decor was to help the
tuberculosis patients to recover.
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CONSULTANTS
ALVAR AALTO
The Paimio Sanatorium (1929-1933)
• As tuberculosis is transmitted by bacteria, it was
important that all the surfaces were easy to clean and
the spaces could be easily aired. No sharp edges,
unnecessary ornaments, or shelves that gather dust
were used. The indoor surface materials were
The curved reception desk in the lobby is from 1958.
durable against wear and washing; rubber flooring, The original desk was lower and light could freely
linoleum, ceramic slates and shiny painted surfaces. enter the lobby space

• There was no pharmacological treatment for Left; the hospital’s B-wing and dining room,
tuberculosis, and the most important form of treatment center; the main entrance and lobby, right;
the A-wing patient rooms
was to improve the general condition of the patients.
They were isolated from the community to prevent the
contagious disease from spreading. The fresh air of the
pine forest was thought to ease the symptoms, and
this is one of the reasons for the sanatorium’s
somewhat remote location.
• Before vaccinations and antibiotics were invented, the
cures for tuberculosis included good hygiene, clean air,
and light therapy. FIRSTUP 35
CONSULTANTS
ALVAR AALTO Spaces - the main hospital building, the senior
physician’s house, row houses, the morgue
The Paimio Sanatorium known as the Rose Cellar, garages and other
technical spaces.
(1929-1933)

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CONSULTANTS
ALVAR AALTO There were open dormitories at the end of the
A-wing floors. They were since changed into
office rooms.
The Paimio Sanatorium (1929-1933)
• Alvar Aalto placed the hospital’s
various functions into their own wings
so that the patients could enjoy sunlight
throughout the day. On the top floor he
designed a roof terrace that spreads
throughout the entire wing and faces
south. The patients rested there lying
down. Originally, each floor of the
patient wing had an open, terrace-
like dormitory.
• The patients, whose condition allowed
it, were encouraged to make walking Top floor Sun terrace, 1933
trips into the sanatorium’s
surroundings and along the
serpentine path in the south yard.
There were several fountains along the
walkway that spread along the length of
the yard. The path no longer exists. FIRSTUP 37
CONSULTANTS
 The two orange dots
present the lamps in the
ALVAR AALTO yard.

The Paimio Sanatorium (1929-1933) Eino Kauria’s

color plan clearly
• Colors shows the shades
used in the A-wing
• The Paimio Sanatorium features an array of colours, and (at the bottom)
Alvar Aalto is said to be very particular about the shades. patient room
Artist Eino Kauria (1903-1997) took part in the color ceilings.
planning for the sanatorium. He prepared two almost identical
color designs for the main building.
• The plans clearly show especially the colors used in the
ceilings of the patient rooms. It was hoped that the colors
would soothe the patients. The A-wing floors are painted
with many different colors even today.
• Alvar Aalto wrote about the colors in the patient rooms: “The
walls are light and the ceilings darker. This makes the
general tone more peaceful from the perspective of a lying-
down patient. The general lighting point of the room is above
the patient’s head at the interface of the wall and ceiling,
which means that it is outside the angle of vision of a lying-
down patient.”
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CONSULTANTS
ALVAR AALTO
The Paimio Sanatorium (1929-1933)
• Alvar Aalto also designed the light fixtures and
furniture of the sanatorium together with his
wife Aino Aalto.
• Most of the furniture and light fixtures ended up in serial Alvar Aalto designed the
Pikku Paimio (Little
production, and Artek still manufactures some articles up Paimio) armchair for
to this day. One of the most iconic articles is the Paimio the sanatorium
armchair. The shape of the chair’s back was intended
to help the patient’s breathing.
• At the end of the 1950s, the development of vaccines Light enters the
library through the
and medicines led to a decline in tuberculosis cases and large window. The
the sanatorium was no longer needed for its original furniture and light
purpose. Tuberculosis sanatoriums were modified into fixtures of the
hospitals in Finland and elsewhere in Europe. This was sanatorium were
designed by Aino and
also the case with the Paimio Sanatorium. Alvar Aalto. The
furniture was both
• Since 2014, after the sanatorium no longer functioned as practical and
a hospital, the Mannerheim League for Child Welfare’s aesthetic.
Rehabilitation Fund for Children and the Youth has
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operated in the premises. CONSULTANTS 39
ALVAR AALTO
Vyborg Library (1927 to 1935 )
• It is a library in Vyborg, Russia, built during the time
of Finnish sovereignty (1918 to 1940-44), before the
Finnish city of Viipuri was annexed by the former
USSR and its Finnish name was changed to Vyborg
by the USSR authorities.
• The building, built from 1927 to 1935, is an
internationally acclaimed design by the Finnish
architect Alvar Aalto and one of the major examples
of 1920s functionalist architectural design.
• The library is considered one of the first
manifestations of "regional modernism". It is
particularly famous for its wave-shaped ceiling in
the auditorium, the shape of which, Aalto argued,
was based on acoustic studies.
• Nowadays, integrated in the Russian Federation city
of Vyborg, the library is officially known as
the Central City Alvar Aalto Library.
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CONSULTANTS
ALVAR AALTO
conical skylight
Vyborg Library (1927 to 1935 )
• Aalto received the commission to design the library after
winning first prize (with his proposal titled 'WWW') in
an architectural competition for the building held in 1927.
• Aalto's design went through a profound transformation
from the original architectural competition proposal
designed in the Nordic Classicism style to the
severely functionalist building, completed eight years later
in a purist modernist style.
diagonal entrance door bracings
• Such architectural solutions as a sunken reading-well,
free-flowing ceilings and cylindrical skylights, first tested
in Viipuri, would regularly appear in Aalto's works. Aalto
differed from the first generation of modernist architects
(such as Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier) in his
predilection for natural materials: in this design, "wood
was first introduced into an otherwise modernist setting
of concrete, white stucco, glass, and steel".

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CONSULTANTS
ALVAR AALTO
Vyborg Library - The Design
• The library's massing consists of two simple
rectangular blocks that are offset horizontally from
one another, but the internal spatial organization is
deceptively more complex.
• What is often described as three floors in plan is
actually six or seven in section, resulting in a
variegated array of volumetric conditions and a
complex field of transitional spaces.
• The programmatic arrangement bears some
resemblance to the simpler massing, with
administrative and ceremonial spaces in the main
entrance block and the bulk of the reading spaces and
bookshelves in the larger rear block.
• The administrative desk—the programmatic heart
of the building—is also its geometric center,
generating a radial pulse that aligns bookshelves and
stairwells with a single point, a powerful circular
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motif in an otherwise orthogonal system. CONSULTANTS 42
ALVAR AALTO
Vyborg Library
• On a more functional level, the library presented an opportunity for
the young Aalto to begin testing his ideas on natural lighting, a
pursuit he would continue throughout his career.
• Lighting is one of the primary considerations in a library, in this
case the architect designed a perforated by 57 round skylights,
with a diameter of 1.83m cover. The round shape was the most
satisfying to the condition of internal stress for horizontal glass
surfaces and in cold climates the ever present danger of cracking
should be avoided at all costs.
• No direct sunlight enters, it is reflected in thousands of lines of
reflection result of the conical shape, like a funnel, of the
skylight. Thus without the use of a glass diffuser , shadowless light,
ideal for the reader who can take your book to anywhere in the
room without being bothered by glare was obtained.
• In artificial light followed the same principles in natural lighting.
Light is designed to fall onto the book diagonally and in all
directions in order to avoid shadows. The accessories were placed
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between the openings of the skylights. CONSULTANTS 43
ALVAR AALTO
• ACOUSTICS - In the conference room the architect solved the acoustics of the space with the design of
ripples in the roof made ​with wood slats Karelian pine, from the Finnish region of Karelia, which help the best
sound propagation. The walls had a textile lining, the floor was wood and furniture in the conference room
were designed especially for the occasion, with characteristic Aalto stacking stools and seats with backs, made
of curved.
• STRUCTURE - The structure is made of pillars and reinforced concrete slabs builtin situ, being at that time
the most renowned. There are also metal pillar structure seen in the conference room. The use of brick is
reserved for interior partitions and walls, then coated.
• MATERIALS - Aalto also designed small elements to the user, such as handrails, chairs, curtains and other
interior elements. The building was completely white outside and inside the various elements retained their
natural color, with the exception of some metal elements were painted black, white or gray.

FIRSTUP 44
Aalto’s Acoustic Sketch for lecture hall CONSULTANTS
ALVAR AALTO
Säynätsalo Town Hall (1948-1952)
• The Säynätsalo Town Hall is a multifunction building
complex – town hall, shops, library and flats – designed by
Finnish architect Alvar Aalto for the municipality of Säynätsalo
(merged with the municipality of Jyväskylä in 1993) in Central
Finland.
• Aalto received the commission after a design contest in 1949,
and the building was completed in December 1951.
• The town hall is considered one of the most important
buildings Aalto designed in his career.
• The design of the Town Hall was influenced by both Finnish
vernacular architecture and the humanist Italian
renaissance. It was the Italian Renaissance from which Aalto
drew inspiration for the courtyard arrangement.
• While the main program of the building is housed within a
heavy brick envelope, the courtyard is bordered by a glass-
enclosed circulation space which can be linked to the model
of an arcade-bordered Piazza. FIRSTUP 45
CONSULTANTS
ALVAR AALTO
Säynätsalo Town Hall
• The civic complex was to comprise a council chamber, local
government offices, a community library, staff apartments,
and retail space that would ultimately allow the functions of the
town hall to expand beyond their original parameters.
• Aalto’s winning proposal for the project follows the traditional
European court-and-tower model of a civic center. The complex
consists of two wood-framed brick buildings: the rectangular
library block and the U-shaped government building. These
two buildings act as a retaining wall that allowed Aalto to fill the
central courtyard with earth excavated from the slope of the site;
thus, the courtyard is lifted one story above the surrounding
landscape.
• This difference in elevations creates two contrasting
experiences of the building, depending on whether one is inside
the courtyard or observing from outside. Inside the courtyard,
the facades of the surrounding library and office spaces are only
one story tall; however, outside observers instead see an
imposing two-story facade, much of which is monolithic, FIRSTUP 46
unornamented brick. CONSULTANTS
ALVAR AALTO
Säynätsalo Town Hall
• It was important to Aalto that the design represent
democracy and the people's relationship with
the government which is why he included a large
public space, along with sections dedicated to the
public.
• The town hall is crowned by the council chamber, a
double-height space which is capped by the Aalto-
designed "Butterfly" trusses. The trusses support
both the roof and the ceiling, creating airflow to
manage condensation in the winter and heat in the
summer.
• The butterfly truss eliminates the need for multiple
intermediate trusses. It also gives call to medieval
and traditional styles. The council Chamber is
approached from the main entrance hall a floor
below via a ramp which wraps around the main
tower structure under a row of clerestory ribbon
windows. FIRSTUP 47
CONSULTANTS
ALVAR AALTO
Säynätsalo Town Hall
• Aalto constrained his material palate to one dominated by brick
and accented by timber and copper. Though Aalto practiced at
the same time as Modernist Architects Le Corbusier and others,
he rejected the Machine Aesthetic for the majority of his
architecture. Instead, he saw his buildings as organisms made
of up of individual cells.
• This principle informed Aalto's use of traditional building
materials such as brick which is, by nature, cellular. The bricks
were even laid slightly off-line to create a dynamic and enlivened
surface condition due to the shadows.
• The massive brick envelope is punctuated by periods of
vertical striation in the form of timber columns which evoke
Säynätsalo's setting in a heavily forested area.
• Another distinctive feature at Säynätsalo are the grass stairs
which complement a conventional set of stairs adjacent to the
tower council chambers. The grass stairs also evoke notions of
ancient Greek and Italian architecture through the establishment
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of a form resembling a simple amphitheater condition. CONSULTANTS 48
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
• Frank Lloyd Wright (born Frank Lincoln Wright, June 8, 1867 – April 9,
1959) was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator,
who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works.
• Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with
humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic
architecture.
ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE
• The term organic architecture was coined by Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–
1959), though never well articulated by his cryptic style of writing:
• "So here I stand before you preaching organic architecture: declaring
organic architecture to be the modern ideal and the teaching so much
needed if we are to see the whole of life, and to now serve the whole of
life, holding no traditions essential to the great TRADITION. Nor
cherishing any preconceived form fixing upon us either past, present or
future, but instead exalting the simple laws of common sense or of super-
sense if you prefer determining form by way of the nature of
materials." - Frank Lloyd Wright, written in 1954
• Organic architecture is also translated into the all inclusive nature of FIRSTUP
Frank Lloyd Wright’s design process. CONSULTANTS 49
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
Dictates for organic design:
•Be inspired by nature and be
sustainable, healthy, conserving, and
diverse.
•Unfold, like an organism, from the
seed within.
•Exist in the "continuous present" and
"begin again and again".
•Follow the flows and be flexible and
adaptable.
•Satisfy social, physical, and spiritual
needs.
•"Grow out of the site" and be unique.
•Celebrate the spirit of youth, play and
surprise.
•Express the rhythm of music and the
power of dance.
• Materials, motifs, and basic ordering principles continue to
repeat themselves throughout the building as a whole. The idea
of organic architecture refers not only to the buildings' literal
relationship to the natural surroundings, but how the
buildings' design is carefully thought about as if it were a
unified organism.
• Geometries throughout Wright’s buildings build a central
mood and theme. Essentially organic architecture is also the
literal design of every element of a building: From the
windows, to the floors, to the individual chairs intended to
fill the space.
• Everything relates to one another, reflecting the symbiotic
ordering systems of nature.
• Using Nature as our basis for design, a building or design
must grow, as Nature grows, from the inside out. Most
architects design their buildings as a shell and force their way
inside.
• Nature grows from the idea of a seed and reaches out to its
surroundings. A building thus, is like to an organism and
mirrors the beauty and complexity of Nature.
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CONSULTANTS
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
EARLY WORKS OF FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
• He studied in school of engineering from university of Wisconsin in 1883, worked
as a junior drafts-man for Allen.D.madison from 1885-87. After that he worked
as head of the planning and design department, in Adler and Sullivan-Chicago
1893-1896.he travelled around Europe from 1897 – 1909.
• He established an office in Tokyo in 1915 and Wright foundation fellowship in All these were
incorporated in these 3
1932.
building :
• F.L.Wright was of the American tradition; his strength and inspiration were drawn 1. Larkin
from the soil. His materials were taken from the land, wood, stone and clay Administration
bricks. He understood the human needs, free from tension which centered the Building (1904)
2. Robie House
mental health and happiness of the dwelling.
(1909)
• To achieve this he evolved a new concept of interior space, rooms of a house. Each 3. Unity temple
form had a simple function, rooms overlap and interpenetrate often at the corners. (1906)
Spaces are defined rather than enclosed and uses are relative rather than obsolete.
• Roofs, balconies gradually become flat slabs, geometric interplay between
vertical and horizontals replaced an emphasis upon the walls.

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CONSULTANTS
 FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
ROBIE HOUSE
• Designed and built between 1908-1910, the Robie
House for client Frederick C. Robie and his family was
one of Wright's earlier projects. Influenced by the flat,
expanisve prairie landscape of the American Midwest
where he grew up, Wright's work redefined American
housing with the Prairie style home.
• According to Wright, “The prairie has a beauty of its
own and we should recognize and accentuate this natural
beauty, its quiet level. Hence, gently sloping roofs, low
proportions, quiet sky lines, suppressed heavy-set
chimneys and sheltering overhangs, low terraces and
out-reaching walls hiding private gardens.”
• The Robie House creates a clever arrangement of public
and private spaces, slowly distancing itself from the
street in a series of horizontal planes. By creating
overlaps of the planes with this gesture, it allowed for
interior space expanded towards the outdoors while still
giving the space a level of enclosure. FIRSTUP 52
CONSULTANTS
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
ROBIE HOUSE

FIRSTUP 53
CONSULTANTS
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
ROBIE HOUSE
• This play on private spaces was requested by the client, where he
insisted on the idea of "seeing his neighbors without being seen."
Wright specifically approached this request with an enormous
cantilever over the porch facing west that stretched outwards 10'
feet from its nearest structural member and 21' from the closest
masonry pier.
• As is seen in many of Wright's project, the entrance of the house is
not clearly distinguishable at first glance due to the fact that Wright
believed the procession towards the house should involve a
journey. Wright also expressed the importance of the hearth in a
home with a fireplace that separated the living and dining room that
is open to the ceiling above the mantelpiece for the billiard room
and playroom.
• The rooms were determined through a modular grid system which
was given order with the 4' window mullions. Wright, however, did
not use the standard window in his design, but instead used "light
screens" which were composed of pieces of clear and colored glass,
usually with representations of nature. FIRSTUP 54
CONSULTANTS
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
ROBIE HOUSE
• The protrusions of these windows on the East and West facade, along with low
ceilings, emphasized the long axis of the house and directed views towards the outside.
These windows were also stretched on French doors along the entire south wall on the
main level, opening up to a balcony. The sun angles were calculated so perfectly with
this cantilever that a midsummer noon's sun hits just the bottom of the entire facade
while still allowing light to flood in to warm the house during the spring and autumn
months.

FIRSTUP 55
CONSULTANTS
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
UNITY TEMPLE, OAK PARK
• One of the most significant projects from his early career is
Unity Temple near his home and studio in Oak Park.
Completed in 1908, Unity Temple was a replacement for a
Church that had burned down in 1905.
• For Wright, the church was meant to be a temple for man to
worship god, which coincided with Wright’s decision to
abandon the typical New England Unitarian, white steeple,
architectural style for a more modern concrete aesthetic.
• Wright’s implementation of reinforced concrete was not only
for its economic feasibility, but also for its flexibility in
design while also creating a lasting presence on the site.
• Located on a busy main street in Oak Park, Unity Temple sits
as a heavy mass on the site. Because of the noise level from
the street, the temple appears to be windowless save for a few
clerestory windows placed in recessed parts of the facade.

FIRSTUP 56
CONSULTANTS
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
UNITY TEMPLE, OAK PARK
"Why not, then, build a temple, not to GOD in that
way—more sentimental than sense—but build a
temple to man, appropriate to his uses as a meeting
place, in which to study man himself for his God's
sake? A modern meeting-house and good-time
place.” – Frank Lloyd Wright

FIRSTUP 57
CONSULTANTS
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
UNITY TEMPLE, OAK PARK
• As with some of his later works, Unity Temple is designed as a
bipartite building that locates the temple at the center of the
building, which connects to a community center through a low
level corridor.
• Unlike the iconic buildings that Wright had designed later in the
20th Century, Unity Temple does not employ a low, horizontal
profile, rather the space and volume was more important than the
walls.
• Throughout Wright’s architecture there is an interplay between
light and dark, in the material, spatial configuration, and literal
means of light. The exterior reads as heavy and opaque whereas
the interior appears open and airy. Inside the temple, the light
seems to appear from nowhere flooding the space with light.
• Since the windows were removed from street level, the
parishioners have no view of the exterior or nature. Wright’s
response to this issue was to design stained glass that had hues
of green, yellow, and brown to evoke the sense of nature within
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the interior. CONSULTANTS 58
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
UNITY TEMPLE, OAK PARK
• Compared to the effects that the building creates, the temple is
relatively small. All of the seating within the temple is placed
within 40 feet of the pulpit, which reinforces that sense of the
community that Wright had developed as way for everyone to
come together and worship.
• Although, its actual size is considerably smaller than it appears,
it is the light that pours in from the clerestory and skylights that
open up the volume to appear as if it were much bigger than it
actually is.
• Throughout the building, more so the interior, every detail was
designed by Wright himself. The lighting fixtures, the tracery
on the wall, stained glass, as well as the glass framing in the
washrooms. As with most of his buildings, Unity Temple is a
holistic design where nothing has gone untouched or
undersigned being completely rooted in Wright’s design
principles.

FIRSTUP 59
CONSULTANTS
 FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
LARKIN ADMINISTRATION BUILDING (1904)
• The Larkin Building was an early 20th century
building. It was designed in 1903 by Frank
Lloyd Wright and built in 1904-1906 for
the Larkin Soap Company of Buffalo, New
York.
• The five story dark red brick building was
constructed of dark red brick, utilizing pink
tinted mortar and steel frame construction.
• The entire roof was paved with brick and
served as a recreation area for the building's
employees, their families and guests. The
entrances of the building were flanked by two
waterfall-like fountains.
• Above the fountains were bas-reliefs by
Richard W Bock, who also designed the globes
on the tops of the central exterior piers of the
building. But later it was removed due to
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structural issues. CONSULTANTS 60
 FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
LARKIN ADMINISTRATION BUILDING (1904) - Exteriors

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CONSULTANTS
 FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
LARKIN ADMINISTRATION BUILDING (1904)
• Vertical brick piers and wall planes made
possible the splendid integration of space,
structure, and massing which Wright achieved in
the Larkin Company Office Building at Buffalo, of
1904.
• In space the building was conceived of as facing
inward, with a glass-roofed central hall rising the
entire height and with horizontal office floors
woven around it.
• The pattern of piers and walls which makes these
spaces is clearly unified in both plan and section.
The vertical piers rise uninterruptedly inside,
and the horizontal planes of the office floors are
kept back from their edges, so that they seem,
once more, to be woven through them.
• A 76-foot-tall (23 m) light court was located in
the center of the building which provided
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natural sunlight to all of the floors. CONSULTANTS 62
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
LARKIN ADMINISTRATION BUILDING (1904)
• Also, the main floor now contained sixteen indoor
"windows" where Larkin drapes and curtains
were displayed against a pastel background that
was back lighted to simulate sunlight.
• the double-paned windows faced the parking lot.
• It was noted for many innovations, including air
conditioning, built-in desk furniture, and
suspended toilet partitions and bowls. Wright Now, through photo-
designed much of the furniture, the chairs were realism techniques done
made out of steel and hung from the tables to with 3-D computer
make cleaning the floors easy. modeling, Spanish
architect David Romero
• Decline - In 1939 the Larkin Company made has cast a new light on the
old images by bringing
interior modifications and moved retail operations the building's red
into the building. In 1943, the firm's fortunes were sandstone exterior,
in decline and it was forced to try to sell the cream-colored brick walls
building. and ornate details
dreamily to life.
FIRSTUP 63
CONSULTANTS
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
LATER WORKS
FALLING WATER S
• A well known example of organic architecture is
Falling water, the residence Frank Lloyd Wright
designed for the Kaufman family in rural Pennsylvania.
Wright had many choices to locate a home on this large
site, but chose to place the home directly over the
waterfall and creek creating a close, yet noisy dialog
with the rushing water and the steep site.
• The horizontal striations of stone masonry with
daring cantilevers of colored light brown concrete
blend with native rock outcroppings and the wooded
environment.
• The structural design for Falling water was undertaken
by Wright in association with staff engineers Mendel
Glickman and William Wesley Peters.
• Preliminary plans were issued to Kaufmann, after which
Wright made a further visit to the site; an old rock
quarry was reopened to the west of the site to provide
the stones needed for the house’s walls. FIRSTUP 64
CONSULTANTS
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT FALLING WATER S

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CONSULTANTS
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT

FALLING WATER S

FIRSTUP 66
CONSULTANTS
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
LATER WORKS
FALLING WATER S
• The strong horizontal and vertical lines are a distinctive
feature of Falling water. For the cantilevered floors, he used
upside down T-shaped beams integrated into a monolithic
concrete slab which both formed the ceiling of the space below
and provided resistance against compression.
• Falling water stands as one of Wright's greatest masterpieces
both for its dynamism and for its integration with the striking
natural surroundings. Wright's passion for Japanese
architecture was strongly reflected in the design of Falling water,
particularly in the importance of interpenetrating exterior and
interior spaces and the strong emphasis placed on harmony
between man and nature.
• The house is well known for its connection to the site; it is built
on top of an active waterfall which flows beneath the house. The
fireplace hearth in the living room integrates boulders found
on the site and upon which the house was built — ledge rock
which protrudes up to a foot through the living room floor was
left in place to demonstrably link the outside with the inside.
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CONSULTANTS
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
LATER WORKS
FALLING WATER S
• From the cantilevered living room, a stairway leads
directly down to the stream below, and in a connecting
space which connects the main house with the guest and
servant level, natural spring drips water inside, which
is then channeled back out.
• Bedrooms are small, some with low ceilings to
encourage people outward toward the open social
areas, decks, and outdoors.
• the sound of water permeate the house, especially
during the spring when the snow is melting, and locally
quarried stone walls and cantilevered terraces resembling
the nearby rock formations are meant to be in harmony.
• The design incorporates broad expanses of windows and
balconies which reach out into their surroundings.
• The staircase leading down from the living room to the
stream is accessed via movable horizontal glass panes. In
conformance with Wright's views, the main entry door is
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away from the falls. CONSULTANTS 68
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
LATER WORKS
FALLING WATER S
• On the hillside above the main house stands a four-bay
carport, servants' quarters, and a guest house. These
attached outbuildings were built two years later using the
same quality of materials and attention to detail as the
main house.
• The guest quarters feature a spring-fed swimming pool
which overflows and drains to the river below .

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CONSULTANTS
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
LATER WORKS
GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM
• Guggenheim museum Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright,
the cylindrical museum building, wider at the top than the
bottom, was conceived as a "temple of the spirit" and is
one of the 20th century's most important architectural
landmarks.
• The building opened on October 21, 1959, replacing
rented spaces used by the museum since its founding.
• Its unique ramp gallery extends from just under the
skylight in the ceiling in a long, continuous spiral
along the outer edges of the building until it reaches
the ground level. The building underwent extensive
expansion and renovations from 1992 to 1993 (when an
adjoining tower was built) and from 2005 to 2008.
• The museum's collection has grown organically, over
eight decades, and is founded upon several important
private collections, beginning with Solomon R.
Guggenheim's original collection.
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CONSULTANTS
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
LATER WORKS
GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM
• The building instantly polarized architecture
critics, though today it is widely praised. Some
of the criticism focused on the idea that the
building overshadows the artworks displayed
inside, and that it is difficult to properly hang
paintings in the shallow, windowless, concave
exhibition niches that surround the central spiral.
• Prior to its opening, twenty-one artists signed a
letter protesting the display of their work in such
a space.
• It is difficult to properly hang paintings in the
shallow, windowless exhibition niches that
surround the central spiral. Canvasses must be
mounted raised from the wall's surface.
Paintings hung slanted back would appear "as on
the artist's easel". There is limited space within
the niches for sculpture.
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CONSULTANTS
RICHARD NEUTRA
• Richard Joseph Neutra ( April 8, 1892 – April 16, 1970) was
an Austrian-American architect. Living and building for the majority
of his career in Southern California, he came to be considered among
the most important modernist architects.
• He was famous for the attention he gave to defining the real needs
of his clients, regardless of the size of the project, in contrast to
other architects eager to impose their artistic vision on a client.
• Neutra sometimes used detailed questionnaires to discover his
client's needs, much to their surprise. His domestic architecture
was a blend of art, landscape, and practical comfort.
• In a 1947 article for the Los Angeles Times, "The Changing House,"
Neutra emphasizes the "ready-for-anything" plan – stressing an
open, multifunctional plan for living spaces that are flexible,
adaptable and easily modified for any type of life or event.
• Neutra's early watercolors and drawings, most of them of places he
traveled (particularly his trips to the Balkans in WWI) and portrait
sketches, showed influence from artists such as Gustav Klimt, Egon
Schiele etc. Neutra's sister Josefine, who could draw, is cited as
developing Neutra's inclination towards drawing.
FIRSTUP 72
CONSULTANTS
RICHARD NEUTRA
Kaufmann Desert House, California
• The south wing connects to the public realm and includes a
carport and two long covered walkways. These walkways are
separated by a massive stone wall and led to public and service
entries, respectively.
• The east wing of the house is connected to the living space
by a north-facing internal gallery and houses a master
bedroom suite. To the west, a kitchen, service spaces, and
staff quarters are reached by a covered breezeway. In the
northern wing, another open walkway passes along an
exterior patio, leading to two guest rooms.
• The building was designed to appear floating, and thus steel
and glass are used throughout the house to keep it light and
airy, while thicker slabs float above. Besides steel and glass, a
third noticeable material in the house is seen in the thick stone
walls.
• Stone Masonry is known for having a high thermal mass,
meaning it mediates the temperature by slowly absorbing heat
during the day when it is hot outside, and then releasing thermal
energy at night when it is cooler outside.
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CONSULTANTS
RICHARD NEUTRA
Kaufmann Desert House, California
• Since deserts experience high temperature fluctuations from daytime to nighttime, the stone walls work well to prevent the
inside of the building of becoming too hot by slowing down the transfer of heat energy.
• In addition to heat prevention, masonry also acts as a strong boundary against wind, especially in a desert when sand,
dust and other forms of dry, loose debris often get carried through the air.
• The plan of the Kaufmann House highlights the thick masonry walls in brown. As seen in the diagram, the walls are placed
in a way that they protect spaces from the northwest winds, as well as give the more private, enclosed rooms in the house
protection from the heat.

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CONSULTANTS
RICHARD NEUTRA
Lovell House
• The Lovell House or Lovell Health House is
an International style modernist residence designed
and built by Richard Neutra between 1927 and 1929.
• The home, located in Los Angeles, California, was
built for the physician and naturopath Philip Lovell.
• It is considered a major monument in architectural history,
and was a turning point in Neutra's career.
• Neutra was known for his relationships with his clients—he
thought of himself as a therapist and the client his patient.
He spent time getting to know his clients and analyzed their
needs.
• It is often described as the first steel frame house in the
United States, and also an early example of the use
of gunite (sprayed-on concrete).
• Neutra was familiar with steel construction due to his earlier
work with the Chicago firm Holabird & Roche. Neutra
served as the contractor for the project in order to manage
the cost and quality.
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CONSULTANTS
RICHARD NEUTRA
Lovell House
• The house aesthetically follows many of the principles of the International Style.
• In essence it reflects Neutra's interest in industrial production, and this is most evident in the repetitive use of factory-
made window assemblies.
• The interior reflects Neutra's interest in Cubism, transparency, and hygiene. It has "minimal" detailing. In another nod
to industrial production, Neutra installed two Ford Model-A headlights in the main stairwell.
• The Historic American Buildings Survey described the Lovell House as "a prime example of residential architecture
where technology creates the environment."

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CONSULTANTS
LUDWIEG MIES VAN DER ROHE
• He was born in Germany, on march 27, 1886. After having trained with
his father, a master stonemason. At 19 he moved to Berlin, where he
worked for Bruno Paul, the art nouveau architect and furniture
designer.
• At 20 he received his first independent commission, to plan a house for a
philosopher (alois riehl). In 1908 he began working for the architect
peter Behrens. He studied the architecture of the Prussian Karl fried rich
schinkel and frank Lloyd Wright. He opened his own office in Berlin in
1912.
• After World War I, he began studying the skyscraper and designed two
innovative steel-framed towers encased in glass. One of them was the
fried rich strasse skyscraper, designed in 1921 for a competition. It was
never built, although it drew critical praise and foreshadowed his
skyscraper designs of the late 40s and 50s.
• Major contributions to the architectural philosophies of the late 1920s and
1930s he made as artistic director of the werkbund-sponsored
weissenhof project, a model housing colony in Stuttgart. The modern
apartments and houses were designed by leading European architects,
including a block by Mies.

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• In 1930, mies met New York architect Philip Johnson, who
included several of his projects in MoMA’s first architecture
exhibition held in 1932, 'modern architecture: international
exhibition', thanks to which Mies work began to be known in the
united states.
• In the30s, none of his designs were built due to the sweeping
economic and political changes overtaking Germany. He was
director of the Bauhaus school from 1930 until its disbandment
in 1933, shut down under pressure from the new Nazi government.
He moved to the United States in 1937.
• From 1938 to 1958 he was head of the architecture department at the
armour institute of technology in Chicago, later renamed the Illinois
institute of technology. In the 40s, was asked to design a new
campus for the school, a project in which he continued to refine
his steel-and-glass style.

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BARCELONA PAVILION
• In 1927 he designed one of his most famous buildings - the German
pavilion at the international exposition in Barcelona.
• Barcelona pavilion (for which he also designed the famous chrome
and leather 'Barcelona chair), had a flat roof supported by columns.
• This building was used for the official opening of the German section
of the exhibition. It is an important building in the history of modern
architecture, known for its simple form and its spectacular use of
extravagant materials, such as marble, red onyx and travertine.
The same features of minimalism and spectacular can be applied to
the prestigious furniture specifically designed for the building, among
which is the iconic Barcelona chairs.
CONCEPT
• Mies was offered the commission of this building in 1928 after his
successful administration of the 1927 Werkbund exhibition in
Stuttgart.
• He had severe time constraints, had to design the Barcelona Pavilion
in less than a year and was also dealing with uncertain economic
conditions.
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BARCELONA PAVILION
• The pavilion for the Universal Exhibition was supposed
to represent the new Germany: democratic, culturally
progressive, prospering, and thoroughly pacifist; a
self-portrait through architecture.
• The Commissioner, said it should give "voice to the
spirit of a new era". This concept was carried out with
the realization of the "Free plan" and the "Floating
room".
• The pavilion was going to be bare, no trade exhibits,
just the structure accompanying a single sculpture
and purpose-designed furniture (the Barcelona
chair).
• This lack of accommodationable space was designed by
Mies to treat the Pavilion as a continuous space;
blurring inside and outside. “The design was
predicated on an absolute distinction between
structure and enclosed a regular grid of cruciform
steel columns interspersed by freely spaced plane”.
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BARCELONA PAVILION
Planning
• The floor plan is very simple. The entire building rests on a plinth
of travertine. A southern U-shaped enclosure, also of travertine,
helps form a service annex and a large water basin.
• The floor slabs of the pavilion project out and over the pool once
again connecting inside and out. Another U-shaped wall on the
opposite side of the site also forms a smaller water basin.
• The roof plates, relatively small, are supported by the chrome-
clad, cruciform columns. This gives the impression of a hovering
roof. The reflective columns appear to be struggling to hold
the "floating" roof plane down, not to be bearing its weight.
• The walls not only created space, but also directed visitor's
movements. This was achieved by wall surfaces being displaced
against each other, running past each other, and creating a space
that became narrower or wider.
• The pavilion’s internal walls, made of glass and marble, could be
moved around as they did not support the structure. The concept
of fluid space with a seamless flow between indoors and outdoors.
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CROWN HALL AT ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

• Mies van Der Rohe was able to make his work stand out
by being capturing the buildings simplicity and openness.
Crown Hall was completed in 1956 during Mies van der
Rohe's tenure as director of IIT's Department of
Architecture.
• The column-free open plan of the main floor of Crown
Hall demonstrates Mies' innovative concept of creating
universal space that can be infinitely adapted to
changing use.
• Its expansive size of 120' x 220' feet in floor area, with a
ceiling height of 18 feet, allows individual classes to be
held simultaneously without disruption while
maintaining creative interaction between faculty and
students.
• The roof of the building is suspended from the
underside of four steel plate girders. The girders are
themselves supported by eight exterior steel columns,
spaced at 60 foot intervals. The interior is divided by
free-standing oak partitions that demark spaces for classes, FIRSTUP
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CROWN HALL AT ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

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CROWN HALL AT ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
• Four steel plate girders welded to eight H-columns form the primary structure from which the roof has been
suspended. Crown Hall is characterized by an aesthetic of industrial simplicity, with clearly articulated exposed
steel frame construction.
• The steel frame is infilled with large sheets of glass of varying qualities of transparency, resulting in a light and delicate
steel and glass facade wrapping the open plan, free flowing interior of the upper level.
• While the lower level consists of compartmentalized rooms, the high upper floor level, occupying almost 50% of the
total area of the building, is dedicated to a single glass-enclosed architecture studio space. Mies called it a "universal
space", intended to be entirely flexible in use.

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THE FARNSWORTH HOUSE
• The Farnsworth House is one of the most significant of Mies
van der Rohe’s works built for the 1929 International
Exposition. Its significance is two-fold.
• First, as one of a long series of house projects, the Farnsworth
House embodies a certain aesthetic culmination in Mies van
derRohe’s experiment with this building type.
• Second, the house is perhaps the fullest expression of
modernist ideals that had begun in Europe, but which were
consummated in Plano, Illinois.
• Every physical element has been distilled to its irreducible
essence. The interior is unprecedentedly transparent to the
surrounding site, and also unprecedentedly uncluttered in
itself.
• All of the paraphernalia of traditional living –rooms, walls,
doors, interior , loose furniture, pictures on walls, even personal
possessions have been virtually removed in a pure vision of
simplified existence.
• Mies had finally achieved a goal towards which he had been
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THE FARNSWORTH HOUSE
• The Farnsworth house with its continuous glass walls is an even simpler interpretation of an idea. Here the purity of the
cage is undisturbed. Neither the steel columns from which it is suspended nor the independent floating terrace break
the skin.
• In the actual construction, the aesthetic idea was progressively refined and developed through the choices of materials,
colors and details.
• The house faces the Fox River just to the south and is raised 5 feet 3 inches above the ground, its thin, white I-beam
supports contrasting with the darker, sinuous trunks of the surrounding trees.

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THE FARNSWORTH HOUSE
• The calm stillness of the man-made object contrasts also with the
subtle movements, sounds, and rhythms of water, sky and vegetation.
• With its emphatically planar floors and roof suspended on the widely-
spaced, steel columns, the one-story house appears to float above the
ground, infinitely extending the figurative space of the hovering
planes into the surrounding site.
• It is composed of three strong, horizontal steel forms - the terrace, the
floor of the house, and the roof attached to attenuated, steel flange
columns.

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SEAGRAM BUILDING
• The Seagram Building is a 38 storey skyscraper, located in Midtown Manhattan, New
York City. It was designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, in collaboration with
Philip Johnson.
• This building, and the International style in which it was built, had enormous
influences on American architecture. One of the style's characteristic traits was to
express or articulate the structure of buildings externally.
• It was a style that argued that the functional utility of the building’s structural
elements when made visible, could supplant a formal decorative articulation; and
more honestly converse with the public than any system of applied
ornamentation.
• The Seagram Building, like virtually all large buildings of the time, was built of a steel
frame, from which non-structural glass walls were hung. Mies would have preferred
the steel frame to be visible to all; however, American building codes required that all
structural steel be covered in a fireproof material, usually concrete, because
improperly protected steel columns or beams may soften and fail in confined fires.
Mies used non-structural bronze-toned I-beams to suggest structure instead.
• These are visible from the outside of the building, and run vertically, like mullions,
surrounding the large glass windows. This method of construction using an interior
reinforced concrete shell to support a larger non-structural edifice has since become FIRSTUP 88
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SEAGRAM BUILDING
• As designed, the building used 1,500 tons of bronze in its construction. On
completion, the construction costs of Seagram made it the world's most
expensive skyscraper at the time, due to the use of expensive, high-quality
materials and lavish interior decoration including bronze, travertine,
and marble.
• The interior was designed to assure cohesion with the external features,
repeated in the glass and bronze furnishings and decorative scheme.
• The gray topaz glass was used for sun and heat protection,Another
interesting feature of the Seagram Building is the window blinds. As was
common with International style architects, Mies wanted the building to
have a uniform appearance.
• Inevitably; people using different windows will draw blinds to different
heights, making the building appear disorganized. To reduce this
disproportionate appearance, Mies specified window blinds which only
operated in three positions – fully open, halfway open/closed, or fully
closed.
• The Seagram Building, with its use of modern materials and setback from
the city grid, became a prototype for future office buildings designed by
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