Week 11: Modern & Postmodern Architecture

Twentieth-century architecture reflects the century's preoccupation with progress,

technology and societal change, while maintaining its connections with previous
styles.
With the exception of the works of Frank Lloyd Wright, the early twentieth-
century was dominated by European architects who exhibited similar intentions as
they pioneered what came to be known as the International Style. The Bauhaus
was the driving force of the International Style, which attempted to unite art and
design. The Bauhaus promoted artistic and social reform. The leading figures in
this group combined sleek designs with modern materials, while they explored the
relationship between exterior and interior elements in ever changing combinations.
Modernism in architectural terms has meant hatred to historicism and to
decoration for its own sake. It expresses "clean functionalism" of the Machine
Age. Frank Lloyd Wright's designs are a series of open and closed "space
blocks." Gropius initiated "glass wall". Le Corbusier's early designs exemplify
the machine aesthetic.

Postmodernism is the name given to the post- industrial era. It embraces the
Information Age while rejecting the present world order and the value systems that
created it. Postmodernism is a product of disappointment and alienation. Two
approaches used as interpretive or evaluative strategies include Semiotics and
Deconstruction. Postmodernism rejects modernism, but does not impose a unified
philosophy to replace it. It is a collection of diverse, nontraditional artistic
tendencies, with inherent contradictions. Pluralism and Appropriation are
primary characteristic of Postmodernism. Deconstructivism challenges the
traditional essence and design of architectural form. Inside-Out style appears in
Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers's Pompidou Center in Paris. The Post Modern
style was a reaction against the rationalism of Modernist design. Its design
influenced not only architecture and furniture, but also industrial design.
1- Mackintosh, Glasgow School of Art, Scotland, 1907-09.
2- Frank Lloyd Wright, Robie House, Chicago, 1909.
3- Groupius and Meyer, Fagus Shoe Factory, 1911-25.
4- Le Corbusier, Savoy House, Poissy-sur-Seine, France, 1929-30.
5- Frank Lloyd Wright, Falling Water House, (Liliane & Edgar Kaufmann)
Pennsylvania, 1935.
6- Frank Lloyd Wright, Guggenheim Museum of Art, New York, 1956-59.
7- Moshe Safdie (and others), Habitat, EXPO 67, Montreal, 1967.
8- Jorn Utzon, Sydney Opera, Australia, 1973.
9- Rogers & Renzo Piano, Pompidou Cultural Center, 1971-77.
10- Frank Gehry, Dancing House, Prague- Czech Republic, 1996.
11- Frank Gehry, Guggenheim Museum of Art, Bilbao-Spain, 1999.
12- I. M. Pei, Louvre Pyramid, Paris, 1989.
13- Tadao Ando, Church of Light, Tokyo, 1989.
14- Zaha Hadid, Abu Dhabi Performing Arts center, UAE, 2007.
15- Zaha Hadid, Zaragoza Bridge, Spain, 2008.