THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE

ASSIGNMENT 3
TOPIC: Luis Sullivan, Le Corbusier, F.L.W, Lois Kahn, Oscar Niemeyer
 OSCAR NEIMEYER

INTRODUCTION:

Full name: Oscar Niemeyer Soares Filho

Born: December 15, 1907, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Died: December 5, 2012, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Oscar Niemeyer is a Brazilian architect, particularly noted for his work on
Brasilia, a new capital of a brazil. Niemeyer pursued his architecture passion at
the National School of Fine Arts, Rio de janerio.
At an age of 29 years, Niemeyer was assigned as a draftsman for Le Corbusier.
Niemeyer was never a scholar; he is never interested in theories. His free-
flowing lines were always definite. His goal was simple and innocent and is give
beauty to the world. And of course, he did.

PHILOSOPHY:

Some of his well-known quotes:

“it’s not the straight angles that attracts me or the straight lines, hard and inflexible, created by man. What really
attracts me to free flowing, sensual curves. The curves that I find in the mountains of my country, in the
sinuousness of its rivers, in the waves of the ocean, and on the body of the beloved woman. Curved make up the
entire universe, the curved universe of Einstein”
“My work is not about ‘forms follow functions’, but ‘forms follow beauty,’ or even better, ‘forms follow feminine’.”
“about my architecture, I created with courage and idealism, but also with an awareness of the fact that what is
important in life, friends and attempting to make this unjust world a better place in which to live.”
“architecture was my way of expressing my ideals: to be simple, to create a world equivalent to everyone, to look
at people with optimism, that everyone has gift. I don’t need anything but general happiness.”
INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL CENTRE

The Niemeyer Centre is formed by five main elements:

1.the open square
2. the auditorium
3. the dome
4. the tower
5. the multi-purpose building

The open square is a large open outdoor space for cultural activities.
The auditorium contains approximately 1000 seats for concerts, theatre, and conferences and it includes the Club,
a small space for concerts, and an exhibition room in the foyer.
The dome is the exhibition building.
The tower is for sight-seeing and includes a restaurant and cocktail lounge.
The multi-purpose building contains the film center, meeting-rooms, cafe, shops etc.
The main attracting feature of the building is its curves.
Niemeyer used mainly white, red, yellow and blue colors to reflects the influence of neoplasticism in his
building.
The material used in this building were mainly concrete and glass.
CATHEDRAL OF BRASILIA

It is the roman catholic cathedral of a Brasilia designed by the architect Oscar Niemeyer.
In his architecture, Niemeyer combined modernist techniques and materials with curving lines and free use of forms
of the Brazilian baroque period.
It is a hyperbolic structure built from concrete. The structure is supported by 16 curved steel columns.
The structure has a glass ceiling and the large stained-glass windows are shaped into triangles that fit together
between the columns.
It becomes an iconic symbol of Brasilia.
 FRANK LOYD WRIGHT

INTRODUCTION:

Born: June 8, 1867, Richland Center, Wisconsin, U.S.

Died: April 9, 1959, Phoenix, Arizona
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator.
Wright believed in designing in harmony with humanity and the environment, a
philosophy he called organic architecture. This philosophy was exemplified in
Fallingwater (1935), which has been called "the best all-time work of American
architecture."

PHILOSOPHY:

He believed in the power of connecting architecture with its inhabitants, stating once that ‘the mother art is
architecture. Without an architecture of our own we have no soul of our own civilization’.
right believed in creating environments that were both functional and humane, focused not only on a building’s
appearance but how it would connect with and enrich the lives of those inside it. Moreover, at its core, his organic
design philosophy states that architecture holds a relationship with its time and place.

Houses like Fallingwater blend beautifully into their natural surroundings, both drawing inspiration from and
contributing to the setting. Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture showcases materials like wood and stone in their
authentic state, rather than twisting them into something new, a trend that continues today.

Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture has left a lasting legacy for today’s creators of luxury architecture. His influence
can be clearly seen in thoughtful approaches to natural materials, the blending of indoor and outdoor spaces and
the rise of eco-friendly design.
FALLING WATER

Fallingwater is a house designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935 in southwest Pennsylvania's Laurel
Highlands.
The house was built partly over a waterfall and was designed as a weekend home for the family of kaufmann
The house was inscribed as a World Heritage Site under the title "The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd
Wright" in July 2019.
The organically designed private residence was intended to be a nature retreat for its owners. The house is well-
known for its connection to the site. It is built on top of an active waterfall that flows beneath the house.

Design Concept:
• Organic Architecture.
• In close relationship to the glen, the trees, the foliage and wild flowers.
• The glory of the natural surrounding is brought in as part of the daily life.
• Space are designed to bring nature into the four wall.
• Horizontal and vertical lines are the distinctive features of the building.
GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM

R. Guggenheim Museum was the last major project designed and built by Frank Lloyd Wright between 1943 in
Manhattan, New York city until it opened to the public in 1959, six months after his death, making it one of his
longest works in creation along with one of his most popular projects.

Completely contrasting the strict Manhattan city grid, the organic curves of the museum are a familiar landmark for
both art lovers, visitors, and pedestrians alike.

The exterior of the Guggenheim Museum is a stacked white cylinder of reinforced concrete swirling towards the sky.
The museum's dramatic curves of the exterior, however, had an even more stunning effect on the interior. Inside
Wright proposed "one great space on a continuous floor," and his concept was a success.

Walking inside, a visitor's first intake is a huge atrium, rising 92' in height to an expansive glass dome. The design of
the museum as one continuous floor with the levels of ramps overlooking the open atrium also allowed for the
interaction of people on different levels, enhancing the design in section.
 LOIUS KAHN
INTRODUCTION:

Full name: Louis Isadore Kahn

Born: February 20, 1901,Saaremaa, Estonia.
Died: March 17, 1974, Manhattan, New york.

Louis kahn is U.S. Architect, educator, and philosopher, is one of the foremost
20th century architects. Trained in the manner of the ecole des beaux arts
under paul philippe cret, loius kahn graduated from the university of
pennsylvania school of fine arts.

The year 1947 was a turning point in louis kahn's career. Kahn established an
independent practice and began a distinguished teaching career, first at yale
university as chief critic in architectural design and professor of architecture
and then at the university of pannsylvania as cret professor of architecture.

PHILOSOPHY:

In his personal philosophy, form is conceived as formless and unmeasurable , a spiritual power common to all
mankind. It transcends individual thoughts, feelings, and conventions.
Form characterizes the conceptual essence of one project from another, and thus it is the initial step in the
creative process.
The union of form and design is realized in the final product, and the building's symbolic meaning is once again
unmeasurable.
INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT

The campus of IIMA is dominated by the baked brick style favoured by

the its chief architect, the famous louis kahn. All the structures are
designed to be part of a whole and looks one integral whole.

The overall plan of iim, kahn’s thinking was that to unite the
requirements:-
• Classrooms
• offices
• library
• dining hall
• dormitories
• faculty residences
• workers’ housing
• market

The building includes free standing lecture rooms and blocks of faculty
office which stood on opposite sides of a great central courtyard, linked
not by corridors but by shady walkways that offered many places to stop
and talk.

The life of learning and self instruction was also integral to the design of
the residential part of the complex. For this he closly linked the
dormitories to the main building so that the dormitory and the school are
really one and are also the places where people can meet.
 LE CORBUSIER

INTRODUCTION:

Full name: Charles-Edouard Jeanneret

Born: October 6, 1887, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Canton of Neuchatel, Switzerland.
Died: August 27, 1965, Manhattan, New york.

Le Corbusier was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban

planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded
as modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French
citizen in 1930. His career spanned five decades, and he designed buildings in
Europe, Japan, India, and North and South America.
On 17 July 2016, seventeen projects by Le Corbusier in seven countries
were inscribed in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites as The Architectural
Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement.
Le Corbusier remains a controversial figure. Some of his urban planning
ideas have been criticized for their indifference to pre-existing cultural sites,
societal expression and equity, and his ties with fascism, anti-Semitism and
the dictator Benito Mussolini have resulted in some continuing contention.

PHILOSOPHY:

Along with Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius, Le Corbusier was instrumental in the creation of
the International Style. This was a movement defined by rectilinear forms, open interiors and 'weightless'
structures. Le Corbusier laid out these tenets in his five principles of new architecture, published in 1927. He
advocated the Pilotis, free floor plans, roof gardens, horizonal windows, free facades.
PALACE OF JUSTICE, CHANDIGARH

Designed by Le Corbusier, a French Architect, the High Court has got

a beautiful building. Apart from the Court rooms, it houses the
Offices of many Administrative Branches such as Registrar's Office,
Establishment Branch, Gazette Branch and Copying Branch etc.

The High Court is a linear block with the main facade toward the
piazza. It has a rhythmic arcade created by a parasol-like roof, which
shades the entire building. Keeping in view the special dignity of the
judges, Le Corbusier created a special entrance for them through a
high portico resting on three giant pylons painted in bright colours.
Very much in the tradition of the Buland Darwaza of Fatehpur-Sikri,
this grand entrance with its awesome scale, is intended to manifest
the Majesty of the Law to all who enter. Juxtaposed between the
main courtroom of the Chief Justice and eight smaller courts, is a
great entrance hall.

Its scale--especially the height -- is experienced most intensely while

walking up the ramp. The symbolism of providing an "umbrella of
shelter" of law to the ordinary citizen is most vividly manifested
here. The continuity of the concrete piazza running into this space
establishes a unique site and structural unity of the structure with
the ground plane.

The rear side of this ceremonial entrance for the judges is a working
entrance and a large car park at a sunken level. The massive piers
and the blank end walls have interesting cut-outs and niches, to
establish a playful connection with the human scale.
VILLA SAVOYE, POISSY

Villa Savoye is a modernist villa in Poissy, on the outskirts of Paris, France.

It was designed by the Swiss architects Le Corbusier and his cousin Pierre
Jeanneret, and built between 1928 and 1931 using reinforced concrete.
As an exemplar of Le Corbusier's "five points" for new constructions, the
villa is representative of the origins of modern architecture and is one of
the most easily recognizable and renowned examples of the International
style.
The house was originally built as a country retreat for the Savoye family.
After being purchased by the neighboring school, it became the property
of the French state in 1958. After surviving several proposals to demolish
it, it was designated as an official French historical monument in 1965 (a
rare event, as Le Corbusier was still living at the time). It was thoroughly
renovated between 1985 and 1997, and the refurbished house is now
open to visitors year-round under the care of the Centre des monuments
nationaux.
Pierre and Eugénie Savoye approached Le Corbusier about building a
country home in Poissy in the spring of 1928. The prospective site was a
green field on an otherwise wooded plot of land, with a magnificent view
of the landscape to the north west that matched the approach to the plot
along the road. Other than an initial brief prepared by Emile for a
summer house, space for cars, an extra bedroom and a caretaker's lodge,
Le Corbusier had such freedom in executing the commission that he was
limited only by his own architectural aesthetic. He began work on the
project in September 1928.
 LOUIS SULLIVAN
INTRODUCTION:

Full name: Louis Henry Sullivan

Born: 3 September 1856 ,Boston, United States
Died: 14 April 1924, Chicago, Illinois, United States

Louis Sullivan is an American architect and is called the ―FATHER

OF SKYSCRAPERS. A mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright, and an inspiration to the
Chicago group of architects who have come to be known as the Prairie
School. Sullivan is one of "the recognized trinity of American
architecture―studied architecture at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
,entered at the age of 16 , he left MIT in a year to live in Pennsylvania .

Then he went to Chicago, where he worked with the father of the skyscraper
, William Le Baron . Returned to Chicago in 1875 got a job as a draftsman in
the office of Joseph S. Johnson & John Edelman .Left Johnson in 1879 , worked
in the office of Dankmar Adler . The firm of Adler & Sullivan designed over
180 buildings during its existence, famous as pioneering architect.

PHILOSOPHY :

Louis Sullivan coined the phrase "form ever follows function. This credo, which placed the demands of practical use
above aesthetics, would later be taken by influential designers to imply that decorative elements, which architects
call "ornament," were superfluous in modern buildings. But Sullivan himself neither thought nor designed along
such dogmatic lines during the peak of his career. Indeed, while his buildings could be spare and crisp in their
principal masses, he often punctuated their plain surfaces with eruptions of lush Art Nouveau and something like
Celtic Revival decorations, usually cast in iron or terra cotta, and ranging from organic forms like vines and ivy, to
more geometric designs, and interlace, inspired by his Irish design heritage.
AUDITORIUM BUILDING

Louis Sullivan coined the phrase "form ever follows function.

This credo, which placed the demands of practical use above

aesthetics, would later be taken by influential designers to imply
that decorative elements, which architects call "ornament," were
superfluous in modern buildings.

But Sullivan himself neither thought nor designed along such

dogmatic lines during the peak of his career.

Indeed, while his buildings could be spare and crisp in their

principal masses, he often punctuated their plain surfaces with
eruptions of lush Art Nouveau and something like Celtic Revival
decorations, usually cast in iron or terra cotta, and ranging from
organic forms like vines and ivy, to more geometric designs, and
interlace, inspired by his Irish design heritage.
WAINWRIGHT BUILDING

Architectural Style: Early Modern

Construction Syste m: steel frame clad in masonry
Date: 1890 to 1891

"The eleven-storey Wainwright Building represents Sullivan's first

attempt at a truly multi-storey format.

The two-storey base of the classical tripartite composition is faced

in fine red sandstone set on a two-foot-high string course of red
Missouri granite.The building aesthetically exemplifies the
theories of Sullivan's tall building, with the tripartite composition
of base, shaft and attic, which is based on the structure of the
classical column.

While the middle section consists of red brick pilasters with

decorated terra cotta spandrels, the top is rendered as a deep
overhanging cornice faced in an ornamented terra cotta skin to
match the enrichment of the spandrels and the pilasters below."
The first floor was dedicated to street-level shops and the second
to be easily accessible public offices.

Brown sandstone is the facing for the frist two floors, and the
following seven stories are continuous brick piers. Ornate foliage
reliefs are carved in terra cotta panels, decorating each floor. The
tenth story is a frieze of winding leaf scrolls that frame circular
inset windows.
THANK YOU

Submitted by:

Himay Gajjar (173521050010)

Maitri Patel ( 173521050021)
Swapnil Sharma (173521050048)
Hetvi soni (173521050050)