TRIBHUWAN UNIVERSITY

IOE PURWANCHAL CAMPUS

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE
DHARAN-8, SUNSARI

A REPORT ON CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTS AND THEIR WORKS

CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE (III-I)

SUBMITTED BY:
(GROUP 6)
SUBMITTED TO:
ANSHU SHAH (07)
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE
JANARDAN DAS (18)
LECT. AR. PRADIP POKHREL
MANITA SHRESTHA (25)
RICHA KAFLE (36) DATE: 2021-08-29

SAMANA K.C. (39)

SHIPSANG LIMBU (42)
SHRADDHA UPRETI (43)

ANTONI GAUDI
INTRODUCTION
 Antoni Gaudi I Cornet was a Spanish Catalan architect and the best
known practitioner of Catalan Modernism. Antoni Gaudi was born in 25
June 1852 in Riudoms or in Reus and died in 10 June 1926 (aged 73)
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.

He was a Spanish architect whose idiosyncratic works were

characterized by undulating curves and richly colored scrambled
textures. He also won wide international recognition only after the mid-
20th century and develop his unique style—blending elements of Gothic
art, art nouveau, known as modernism in Catalonia, and functional
structure. 

EARLY LIFE
Gaudi enrolled in the Piarists school in Reus where he displayed his artistic talents via drawings for
a seminar called El Arlequín (the Harlequin) and studied architecture at the Llotja School and the
Barcelona Higher School of Architecture, graduating in 1878. Gaudí’s first works both from his
student days and the time just after his graduation stand out for the precision of their details, the use
of geometry and the prevalence of mechanical considerations in the structural calculations. During
his universities studies, Gaudi designed various projects, like: a cemetery gate (1875), a Spanish
pavilion for the Philadelphia World Fair of 1876, a quay-side building (1876), a courtyard for the
Diputació de Barcelona (1876), a monumental fountain for the Plaça Catalunya in Barcelona (1877)
and a university assembly hall (1877).

DESIGN PRINCIPLE
 Reaction against the styles that were developed by machine-production. Objects were simple in
form, without decoration.
 Emphasize the qualities of the materials used ("truth to material"). Used patterns inspired by
British flora and fauna.
 Influenced by the Gothic Revival (1830–1880) & interested in medieval styles, using bold forms
and strong colors based on medieval designs. Believe in the moral purpose of art.
 To express the beauty of craft, some products were deliberately left slightly unfinished, resulting
in a certain rustic and robust effect.

STYLE
A purely non-objective approach in the making of artwork, without reference to the real world.
Essentially geometric, precise and almost mathematical; in fact, a number of Rodchenko drawings
were executed with compass and ruler. Used squares, rectangles, circles and triangles as the
predominant shapes in carefully composed artworks, whether drawing, painting, design or sculpture
Emphasized the dominance of the world of machines and structures over nature.
ARCHITECTURAL TECHNOLOGIES
Gaudí’s work employing organic or natural forms, curved or undulating lines, reclaimed materials,
ceramic bricks, trencadís mosaics, etc. • He projects in such a way that the form does not become a
mere stylistic caprice, but rather finds its reason for being in the function for which it was conceived.
For examples: the schools at the Sagrada Família and hyperbolic vaults. • He used steel inside of
the building to reinforce his structure.

HIS WORKS
1. CASA BATLLO:

The main floor contains the large lounge characterized

by a long gallery with leaded windows and with the fine
woodwork with its interior. Another area is the loft, which
is a perfect combination of beauty and functionality,
inspired by Mediterranean construction, and created
using a series of catenary arches which support the
vaults of the ceiling. Facade reminds of an oil painting, a
carnival, in which the mosaic tiling is confetti, the
wrought-iron balconies are masks, and the pinnacle of
the facade is a Harlequin’s hat. The outside of Casa
Batlló represents the legend of Sant Jordi (Saint
George), the patron saint of Catalonia. The tower was
interpreted as its four arms, the balconies as the skulls
of the dragon’s victims, and the stone columns as their
bones.

2. CASA VICENS:

It is Family residence in Barcelona and built for industrialist

Manuel Vicens. And also it was Gaudí's first important work
& added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Built in the
period 1883-1889. It exhibits the Moorish influence,
particularly evident at the top. The house is constructed of
undressed stone, rough red bricks, and colored ceramic
tiles in checkerboard and floral patterns. The owner,
Manuel Vicens, was the owner of a brick and tile factory, so
the ceramic tiles pay tribute to his employment. The plan is
asymmetrical with protruding gables and buttresses.
Galleries project even farther at the top. Rooftop towers are
reminiscent of Moorish architecture. The structure stands
out for its simplicity, its coluring, its natural motifs, its
abundant decoration. The building displays as well moorish
architecture on roof wrought iron gateway wrought iron windows.
OTHER WORKS: Hotel Tassel, Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, Church of Colonia guell, Guell Palace,
etc. CARL
PRUSCHA
• Carl Pruscha, an Austrian architect who mainly dedicated
his professional career to investigate and work closely in
the field of regional architecture in the eastern world, a
territory that was being overlooked at a time when the
modern movement in architecture and in the rest of the
world was booming.

BIOGRAPHY
• Carl Pruscha was born in Innsbruck – Austria, on June 10.
1936.
• He spent his childhood years during the war in the safety of
a remote farmhouse in the Tyrolean Mountains.
EDUCATION:
• Carl Pruscha studied from 1955 to 1960 with Lois Welzenbacher and Roland Rainer at
the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts.
•  Postgraduate studies for urban Design at the GSD – Harvard University (Prof. Jose Luis
Sert and Fumihiko Maki).

PROFESSIONAL CAREER
• First practical experience in New York City (offices of Paul Lester Wiener and Wallace
Harrison).
• He came to Nepal in 1965 as a United Nations adviser for eight years
• He joined the Academy in Vienna as a professor for fundamentals of planning and
building research in 1978. From 1988 to 2001 he acted as the vice-chancellor before
taking over the chair for habitat, environment and conservation, which he held until his
retirement in 2004.
• His major works include his own private house, Bansbari Residence, the CEDA Building
(Centre for Economic Development and Administration, 1967–1969) at the Tribhuvan
University for the Ford Foundation, and the Taragaon Hostel for a Nepalese women’s
organization in Boudha, Kathmandu.

PHILOSOPHY AND PRINCIPLES

 He understood buildings as part of a network, as elements

of a comprehensive infrastructure.
 Man, nature and the environment are important topics for
Carl Pruscha in his architectural practice.
 Heritage preservation, regionalism, and traditional
architecture.
 He was especially devoted to the study of urban planning
in developing countries, “going back to the roots” of city
planning and vernacular architecture. 
 Minimalist design, simple forms, devoid of ornamentation
 Mix of modern architectural elements with long-established
techniques
 HIS WORKS

HIS WORKS
1. THE TARAGAON MUSEUM 1. THE TARAGAON
• Location: Boudha, Kathmandu MUSEUM
• The Taragaon museum was originally designed
as a hotel in 1971 
• The design was influenced by the form and
function of the traditional Dharmshalas.
•  It is a modernist structure: minimalist design,
simple forms, devoid of ornamentation.
• Following the principle of the barrel vault, the
buildings could be completed in a short time
with moving segmental shuttering, supported by
bamboo poles. 
• Walls, floors and the vaulted ceiling, and even
the inbuilt benches are exclusively made of
bricks. 
• The barrel vaults are made up of one brick on
edge, a second layer follows after isolation with
locally available bitumen.
• The structure is a homogeneous mass of bricks
which had a considerable cooling effect.
• The openness of the rooms at both ends allows
ideal transverse ventilation.

• Besides this standard type, larger units were created with bunk beds. The desk-like
mono-pitched roofs reach to the ground and are negotiable via steps on the side. The two
larger common buildings serve all further functions and form the centre of the entire
complex
• The former terraced fields of the site allowed for a staggered arrangement of all
components that are connected by brick-paved paths.

 2. CEDA Building (Centre for Economic Development and

Administration
• Location: Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu
• It was established on may 15, 1969
under tripartite agreement between His
Majesty's Government of Nepal (Nepal
Government), Tribhuvan University and the Ford
• ItFoundation.
was one of Pruscha’s first built works that finally showed the combination of a modern
• The CEDA Building has a strong relationship with its
building but that was still very much Nepalese.
natural surroundings, the geography, and the history of the
• It is providing research, training and consultancy services to Government,
Valley.
Non Government and donor agencies.
• The building’s horizontal lines and terraces go along with
the terraced fields of the site and the materials applied are
those traditionally encountered in Nepalese construction:
mainly brick and wood.
 JAMES FRAZER STIRLING (1926-1992)

BIOGRAPHY AND EDUCATION

• Sir James Frazer Stirling (22 April 1926 –

25 June 1992) was a British architect, born
on Glasgow, Scotland who is considered by
many as the premier architect of his
generation and an innovator in postwar
architecture.

• Stirling studied architecture from 1945 until

1950 at the university of Liverpool, where
Colin Rowe was a tutor.

• From 1952 to 1956, he worked with Iyons,

Israel, Ellis in London where he met his first
partner James Gowan and in 1963, Stirling
and Gowan separated; Stirling THEN SET
UP HIS OWN.

DESIGN PHILOSOPHY

 He likes to quote the dynamic architecture as “designed by tie, shaped by life.

 The building is not a mere construction, but an actual machine to be used for the life.

 “Time is the dimension of relativity.”

 Whatever is correct is nice, whatever is nice is not always correct

HIS MAJOR ARCHITECTURAL WORKS:

UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER ENGINEERING BUILDING (1959-63)

 The university of Leicester is a public research university for scientific research and invention
situated in Leicester, England.

ARCHITECTURAL FEATURE:
 Large areas of building are covered with glazing
with heavy masonry forms and use of bricks even in
emergency exit.
 The building’s aesthetic power is striking due to
diamond like shape of northern light glass window.
 The balance of building form resonating to each
other makes it a memorable view spot and
auditoriums are cantilevered structures.
 This university cannot be understood from any one
viewpoint, and can by best understood based on an
isometric drawing.
 There is lack of window as any other engineering university but there is sufficient light through
glass.
 The glass-roof is most significant part of the building. The plan of workshop beneath it is
rectangular in shape and required true north light so orientation should be done diagonally. So,
the architects placed the roof at 45 degrees to the plan below creating this awkward geometry
between the diagonal and rectangle.

HISTORY FACUILTY LIBRARY, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE (1964- 67)

 Modern style building with glass and steel frames,
concrete with brick-cladding.

 Consists of double-glazed sloping roof.

 Selected on the basis of a competition.

 The stair tower is articulated as a separate element.

 The powerful image caused an ambivalent

response from critics and the public.

 This building has suffered from lack of maintenance

and deterioration, but has since been repaired.
 PHILIP JOHNSON

INTRODUCTION

• Born - July 8, 1906, Cleveland, Ohio

• Died - January 25, 2005
• He was a recognizable figure in American
architecture for decades
• Influenced by Mies Van der Rohe.
• 1946 - Founded the Department of Architecture
and Design at MoMA
• 1978 - As a trustee, he was awarded an American
Institute of Architects Gold Medal

EDUCATION AND ACHIEVEMENTS

• Attended the Hackley
School, in Tarrytown, New
York.
• Studied at Harvard as an undergraduate, in history and philosophy.
• In 1928 met Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. They formed a lifetime relationship of both
collaboration and competition.
• At the age of 34: Returned to Harvard to study architecture, and after military service,
embarked a career as a practicing architect.
• He won the first Pritzker Architecture prize for lifetime achievement. The Pritzker
Architecture Prize was established in 1979 for the purpose of encouraging greater
awareness of the way people perceive and interact with their surroundings.
• Received a gold medal from the American Institute of Architects.

DESIGN PHILOSPY:
• "To be in the presence of a great work of architecture is such a satisfaction that you can go
hungry for days.”
• “The job of the architect today is to create beautiful buildings,That's all. “
 • “Comfort is not a function of beauty... purpose is not necessary to make a building
beautiful...sooner or later we will fit our buildings so that they can be used...where form
comes from I don't know, but it has nothing at all to do with the functional or sociological
aspects of our architecture”.

HIS WORKS

GLASS HOUSE – 1949

• The Glass House or Johnson house, in
New Canaan, Connecticut, was an
important project for modern architecture.
• It was also the place of Philip Johnson's
passing in January of 2005.
• The house is located behind a stone
wall on Ponus Ridge Road in New
Canaan, and is mostly hidden from
the public's view.
• The Glass House is one of eleven
buildings that Johnson either built or
refined on his rambling 47-acre estate.
• It sites the edge of a crest in Johnson’s
estate overlooking a pond.
• Its sides are glass and charcoal – painted steel; the floor, of brick.
• The interior is open with the space divided by low walnut cabinets.
• A brick cylinder contains the bathroom and is the only object to reach from floor to the
ceiling.

SEAGRAM BUILDING– 1958

• A skyscraper in New York City.
• It is 156.9 meters tall with 38 stories. It stands as
one of the finest examples of the functionalist
aesthetic and a masterpiece of corporate
modernism.
• The interior was designed to continue the overall vision with the external features
repeated in the glass and bronze furnishings and decorative scheme.
• Was built of a steel frame, from which non-structural glass walls were hung.

• Used non-structural bronze-toned I beams