Contemporary arChiteCture

• Contemporary architecture is a form of construction that

embodies the various styles of building designs stemming from a
wide range of influences. Contemporary architecture cuts away
from the modern architecture of the late twentieth century by
including eco-friendly features and embracing all kinds of
creativity. Aside from employing the different styles and
influences, the contemporary architecture uses the latest
technology and materials. One such technique is the Tube
Structure, which is used to design buildings that are high-tech,
stronger, and taller than most other buildings from previous
generations. With the aid of modern design software and the use
of techniques such as simulations and computer-aided designs,
buildings can be constructed with high-level precision and speed.
The design programs allow for three-dimension modeling of a
structure before it is built.
• Some notable contemporary 21st century architects include Frank
Gehry, Jean Nouvel, Tadao Ando, Shigeru Ban, Santiago
Calatrava and the late Zaha Hadid
• CharaCteristiCs of Contemporary arChiteCture
• One distinctive element of contemporary architecture is the
expressiveness of form and design. The buildings incorporate
innovative and creative designs which are meant to be noticed and
appreciated. The aesthetic sense is very much emphasized in the
design of structures. There is also a wide range of material
combinations to bring out contrast or uniformity. A single building
could be built using concrete, glass, aluminum screens and multiple
other materials that may not be common in modern architecture
buildings. The innovativeness includes asymmetric facades and
crystal-like facets that change color depending on the orientation of
the sun at different times of the day.
• Contemporary architects have a sense for sustainability. This is
achieved through design of buildings that are energy efficient and
that use recycled material for the most part of the construction
process. Such buildings could be powered by solar panels, used as
the roofing material. Most contemporary buildings have oversized
windows which allow for maximum natural light to pass through. This
not only increases the association with space but also improves
airiness and minimizes air conditioning costs
• Most of the landmarks of contemporary architecture are the works
of a small group of architects who work on an international scale.
Many were designed by architects already famous in the late 20th
century, including Mario Botta, Frank Gehry, Jean Nouvel, Norman
Foster, Ieoh Ming Pei and Renzo Piano, while others are the work of
a new generation born during or after World War II, including Zaha
Hadid, Santiago Calatrava, Daniel Libeskind, Jacques
Herzog, Pierre de Meuron, Rem Koolhaas, and Shigeru Ban.
• Here All over above will be discussing one of the architect Santiago
calatrava
• These contemporary "starchitects" are known for show-stoppingly
expressive buildings rendered in unconventional, sometimes
gravity-defying shapes that alter the landscape in places around
the world.
• history of Contemporary arChiteCture
• Contemporary architecture isn’t defined by a single style but is
unified in its imperative to be unconventional, to break with the
past using innovation and imagination rather than replicating older
styles.
• The era of contemporary architecture is generally thought to have
begun sometime after the modern period of the roughly first half of
the 20th century and the postmodern period that was a reaction to
it beginning in the 1960s and continuing through to the 90s.
Therefore, buildings from the late 20th century to the present
moment might be referred to as works of contemporary
architecture.
• Sustainability is an important feature of contemporary architecture,
with the use of recycled and natural materials and attention to eco-
conscious water and temperature control building systems that are
ever more seamlessly integrated and considered.
• CharaCteristiCs of Contemporary arChiteCture
• Contemporary architecture is a free-for-all, but here are some key
elements that might help you identify a contemporary building in
the wild:
• Curved lines
• Rounded forms
• Unconventional volumes
• Asymmetry
• Free-form shapes
• Open floor plans
• Large, abundant windows
• Green roofs, living walls
• Integration into the surrounding landscape
• Integrated smart home technology
• Integrated customizable LED lighting
• here disCussing on ar santiago CaLatraVa and
his one of the WeLL KnoWn struCture ..
 • Born July 28, 1951, in Valencia, Spain; married Robertina (an office
manager and attorney); children: four. Education: Earned degree from
Institute of Architecture, Valencia, Spain, 1974; earned two Ph.D.s from
Federal Institute of Technology, Zürich, Switzerland, 1981.
• Opened architectural firm in Zürich, Switzerland, Calatrava Valls S.A.,
1981; expanded to offices in Paris, France, and Valencia, Spain; won first
major commission for Zürich's Stadelhofen Railway Station, 1982;
designed the Lyons Airport Terminal, France, 1994; Campo Volantin
footbridge, Bilbao, Spain, 1998; City of Art and Sciences, Valencia, 2000;
Quadracci Pavilion, Milwaukee Art Museum, Wisconsin, 2001; roof of
Olympic Sports Complex, Athens, Greece, 2004.
• phiLosophy
• Santiago Calatrava symbolises a perfect blend of architecture and
engineering capabilities at their best. Being a sculptor and a Painted only
added to it and he though unknowingly advocated the philosophy of what a
true Designer should be, encompassing all form of arts. He carried out
extensive studies of anatomy of human, birds and animals and truly so his
designs reflected his philosophy. Calatrava’s dynamic designs integrate
technology and aesthetics producing structural forms that challenge
traditional practice in both architecture and engineering.
 • DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
• “ONE DRAWS THE HUMAN BODY TO UNDERSTAND THE MOVEMENT , THE
GESTURE . THE SPACE , THE LANDSCAPE , THE HUMAN LANDSCAPE , AND
TOPOLGY ARE IMPORTANT FOR ME . THESE WILL INSPIRE OR BRING THE
ESSENCE TO A PROJECT . SO FOR MYSELF I VENERATE THE HUMAN BODY .”
• “TO ME , THERE ARE TWO OVERRIDING PRINCIPLE TO BE FOUND IN NATURE
WHICH ARE MOST APPROPRIATE FOR BUILDING ; ONE IS THEOPTIMAL USE
OF MATERIAL , THE OTHER THE CAPACITY OF ORGANISMS TO CHANGE
SHAPE , TO GROW , AND TO MOVE .”
•
turning torso
 TURNING TORSO is the tallest skyscraper in Sweden and the Nordic
countries , situated in malmo Sweden on the Swedish side of the
Oresund strait . When completed , it was the tallest building in
Scandinavia . A similar , taller skyscraper featuring a 90 degree twist
is the cayan tower , located in dubai , united arab emirates , prior to
the construction of turning torso , the 86 m { 202 ft} kronprinsen had
been the city’s tallest building
The project was designed by the Spanish architect Santiago calatrava
and officially opened on 27 august 2005 . The tower reaches a height
of 190 m
With 54 stories – 147 apartments , relax / lounge/ spa / gym ,wine
cellar followed by around the clock concierge service 365 days a year
.
• Spaces
• Coexist in the building of luxury homes and offices. The
offices are located in the first two buckets, with a total
area of 4,000 square meters. The buckets three new
shelters housing 147 whose surface varies between 45
and 190 square meters. The latter two plants (from which
you can see Copenhagen) are devoted to business
meetings, political meetings and official visits.
design phiLosophy
The vision of turning torso is based on a sculpture called twisting torso , which
is a white marble piece based on the form of a twisting human being created by
Santiago calatrava .
This is a solid immobile building constructed in nine segments of five story
pentagous that twist relative to each other as it rises , the topmost segments is
twisted 90 degree clockwise with respect to the ground floor . Each floor
consists of an irregular pentagonal shape rotating around the vertical croe ,
whch is supported by an exterior steel framework . Two bottom segments are
intended as office space . Segments three to nine house 147 apartments .
MULTI FRAME
high-teCh arChiteCture
• 'High-tech' is an architectural style that incorporates elements of
the new high-tech industries and advanced construction techniques
into building design. Also known as 'late modernism' or 'structural
expressionism', it emerged in the 1970s as a response to a growing
disillusionment with modern architecture that was felt to have
produced monotonous, standardised structures.
• High-tech often seen as being the link
between modernism and postmodernism. Developed out
of modernism, high-tech attached importance to the object itself
rather than the object being a functional use of space. It aimed to
achieve a new industrial aesthetic, inspired by
technological progress and the computerisation of industry.
• It sought to integrate the technical equipment of the building into
its structure, marrying functionality with its aesthetics. This would
be taken further by architects such as Richard
Rogers on buildings such as Lloyds of London and the Centre
Pompidou in a style that was sometimes referred to as 'bowellism',
based on the idea that the greatest amount of free floor space could
be maintained by externalising building services.
• some of the most WeLL-KnoWn arChiteCts identified With the high-
teCh styLe are norman foster, riChard rogers, renzo piano, miChaeL
hopKins, and Jean nouVeL.
• tom Wright
• Born in Shirley, Croydon, Surrey in 1957
• 18 September, 1957
Croydon, United Kingdom
Architect and designer
• Wright studied at the Royal Russell School and then later at
the Kingston University School of Architecture. Wright qualified as an
architect the same year he was accepted as a member of the Royal
Institute of British Architects in 1983 and went on from there to become
a director of the architectural practice Lister Drew Haines Barrow,
which was taken over in 1991 by Atkins. Wright became head of Atkins'
architecture arm.
• Wright became design director for the Jumeirah Beach Resort, Dubai,
and designed the Burj Al Arab (Tower of the Arabs) at the same time. It
was conceived in October 1993 and finished in 1999. The brief was to
create an icon for Dubai: a building that would become synonymous
with the place, as the Sydney Opera House is with Sydney and the Eiffel
Tower is with Paris. The hotel is built in the shape of a dhow's (a
traditional Arabic ship) sail to reflect Dubai′s seafaring heritage
combined with a modern aspect moving forwards into the future. It
costs 2,600 dollars on average per night to stay in a room at the hotel.
• In 2013 Tom Wright, Geku George and Hakim Khennouchi left Atkins to
create a new practice called WKK Architects incorporating in July
2013. WKK is also headquartered in Epsom Surrey, England.
• One of his most recent projects is the co-design of Celebrity Cruises'
new ship, Celebrity Edge,.which brings a number of innovations to the
cruise ship industry
 • Building Name: Burj-Al-Arab Hotel.
• • Other/Former Names: Arab Sail.
• • Chief Architect: The primary architect who designed the
building Tom Wright of Atkins.
• • Chief Contractor: WS Atkins Partners Overseas.
• • Construction Contractor: Murray & Roberts.
• • Construction : 1993 – 1999.
• • Floors : 60.
• • Floor Area : 111,500 m2 (1,200,000 sq ft)
• The Burj Al Arab - Tower of the Arabs , also known as "Arab
Sail“.
• A luxury hotel located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
• At 321 m (1,050 ft), it is the third tallest building in the
world used exclusively as a hotel.
• Stands on an artificial island 280 m (920 ft) .
• Connected to the mainland by a private curving bridge.
• It is an iconic structure, designed to symbolize Dubai's
urban transformation and to mimic the sail of a boat.
 • ConCept
• The instruction from the client (the Crown Prince
of Dubai) was to design, not just a hotel, but also
a signature building; one that would announce,
"Welcome to Dubai".
• ●The client wanted a dramatic statement with
imagery that would immediately conjure up
images of the city.
• ● The building is built on sand, which is unusual
as most tall building are founded on rock. The
Burj al Arab is supported on 250, 1.5M diameter
columns that go 45 meters under the sea. As
there is only sand to hold the building up the
columns rely on friction.
• The orientation of the building minimizes the heat gain during the summer
seasons.
• • The south elevation has the most exposed surface area. As a result, it has the
maximum capacity for heat absorption.
• • For people, there is access to the hotel through the roof via a helicopter. At
the main entrance there is a grand stairway, an escalator and elevators.
• • For air, the revolving door located at the main entrance acts as a locking
mechanism to prevent a phenomenon known as the stack effect, which occurs
when the hot air rises and the cool air falls in a tall building
• enVironmentaL approaCh
• Wind Effects Dubai’s
• • Geographic location subjects the hotel to severe weather conditions
including strong winds and occasional violent thunderstorms.
• • Due to the structure’s proximity to its adjacent hotel resort, wind tunnel
testing was considered to ensure a safe design.
• • wind speed of 45 meters per second, under the recommendations of Dubai
Municipality, was adopted for the design.
• seismiC impaCt dubai
• • Itself is not located in an earthquake intensive zone. However, southern
Iran which is only 100 miles away to the north is subjected to moderate
earthquake risk and in turn which could create tremors in Dubai if a seismic
event were to occur in Iran.
• • To reinforce the structure from any potential swaying, two tuned mass
dampers, weighing about 2 tonnes each, limit vibrations in the tubular steel
mast that projects 60 m above the building.
• response
• ● First option was to change the shape but Architect was against and
forced the engineer to re-think.
• ● Ingenious hanging weight were installed at variable places - when wind
blows, 5 ton weight will swing and damp down the vibrations to safety
limits (refer image for locations highlighted in red)
• ● Building is a hybrid “V” shape structure constructed in concrete and blended
with structural steel.
• ● The “V” shape steel frame wraps around the reinforced concrete tower
inhabiting hotel rooms and lobbies.
• ● The two wings enclose space in center to form largest atrium in the world
standing about 180m height.
• ● Burj al Arab is made up of 28 storeys of split levels (56 storeys) with 10,000
Sqmt floor area, 60,000 Sqmt of concrete and 9,000 ton of reinforced steel.
• ● The roofs and walls of the building are made of prefabricated concrete
• ● There is a concrete core at the back of the building which forms the base of
the V-shape and the trusses are connected to it.
• ● Burj al Arab has the structural expressionism.
• ● Structural Expressionism basically means that the structural
components of the building are visible on the inside as well as outside.
• ● This includes features such as exposed truss work and complex
shapes.
• isLand ConstruCtion
• ● It took 3 yrs to reclaim the land from sea and less than 3 yrs to construct the
building.
• ● Island rises 7 and a half meters above the waves.
• ● Island protected by concrete honeycomb shape solid blocks designed to
reduce the impact of waves.
• ● No one in the gulf had ever used these blocks before
• ConCept and design
• ● Main concern was protection of island, waves breaking over island and
impacting the structure.
• ● Initial proposal was by rock which was easily available and supported the
existing technologies.
• ● Architect-Wright however rejected the proposal because this would make
island too high and his concept was –sail rising from water-people close to sea.
• ● There were lot of debate on height of island.
• ● Then Nicholas experimented with pioneering concrete blocks- specially
designed to reduce impact of waves. Testing were done to ensure island was
safe-3 weeks of testing came up with positive results.
• the ChaLLenge
• ●It was very challenging to design foundations to
Support the mega structure-270 miles off coast, 320 mtr
in height on man-made island (6mts from Arabian Sea)
resistant to earthquake (falling under range of major
fault line) and wind that blows 90 miles per hour.
• ●Structure was designed to amaze-one never built
before. Location on a reclaimed land was added
challenge.

• tests and resuLts

• ●Initial core test-Drilling done 180mts down and no solid
rock was formed but architect was defiant about the
design and construction.
• ●Then, reinforced concrete foundation piles deep into
sand with concept of skin –friction were designed.
• ●Skin friction: resistance that stops the slipping
between sand and surface of piles. When friction
between them is equal to impact, situation is handled.
• mordenism
• Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural style based
upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of
glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that form should follow function
(functionalism); an embrace of minimalism; and a rejection of ornament
• Philip Johnson’s Glass House, built atop a dramatic hill on a
rolling 47-acre estate in New Canaan, Connecticut, is a
piece of architecture famous the world over not for what it
includes, but for what it leaves out. The dwelling’s
transparency and ruthless economy are meant to challenge
nearly every conventional definition of domesticity.
• The residence Johnson built for himself in 1949 suggests a
life pared down to Platonic essentials—and triumphantly
ready for fishbowl scrutiny. There is something intimidating
to people about the restraint such an existence would
demand, as if the house itself were silently judging our own
messy choices. Still, the appeal of all that self-control, that
rigor, is practically narcotic. Why not banish every bit of
clutter? For many of us, Johnson’s masterwork is a powerful
fantasy.
The Glass House is best understood
as a pavilion for viewing the
surrounding landscape. Invisible from
the road, the house sits on a
promontory overlooking a pond with
views towards the woods beyond.
The house is 55 feet long and 33 feet
wide, with 1,815 square feet. Each of
the four exterior walls is punctuated
by a centrally located glass door that
opens onto the landscape. The house,
which ushered the International Style
into residential American
architecture, is iconic because of its
innovative use of materials and its
seamless integration into the
landscape. Philip Johnson, who lived
in the Glass House from 1949 until
his death in 2005, conceived of it as
half a composition, completed by
the Brick House. Both buildings were
designed in 1945-48.
• Since its completion in 1949, the building and decor have
not strayed from their original design. Most of the furniture
came from Johnson’s New York apartment, designed in
1930 by Mies van der Rohe. In fact, Mies designed the now
iconic daybed specifically for Johnson. A seventeenth-
century painting attributed to Nicolas Poussin stands in the
living room. The image, Burial of Phocion, depicts a
classical landscape and was selected specifically for the
house by Alfred H. Barr, Jr., the first director of the Museum
of Modern Art. The sculpture, Two Circus Women, by Elie
Nadelman stands opposite. It is a small version of a marble
sculpture that is in the lobby of the New York State Theater
(now David H. Koch Theater) at Lincoln Center in 1964.
• The floor plan of the Glass House reveals a fairly traditional
living space. Although there are no walls, Philip Johnson
referred to areas within the rectangular, loft-like space as
“rooms.” There is a kitchen, dining room, living room,
bedroom, hearth area, bathroom, and an entrance area.
Despite the very modern style of the house, the layout could
easily be a colonial home, something Johnson noted.
• The floor plan of the Glass House reveals a fairly traditional living
space. Although there are no walls, Philip Johnson referred to areas
within the rectangular, loft-like space as “rooms.” There is a kitchen,
dining room, living room, bedroom, hearth area, bathroom, and an
entrance area. Despite the very modern style of the house, the layout
could easily be a colonial home, something Johnson noted.
• As detailed in the floor plan, the placement of furniture
throughout the house is precise. A rug defines the living
room area, while seating around a low table anchors the
space. The living room is the focal point of the house, and
like nested boxes, it is the center from which the site is
successively occupied: living room, house, courtyard, and
landscape. The fixed furniture plan contrasts with the
surrounding landscape, which is ever-changing through
weather and season.
• The “room” with the greatest privacy is the bedroom, which
also contains a small desk. It is separated from the living
room by a series of built-in storage cabinets with walnut
veneer. Although today open space floor-plans are common,
it was highly unusual in 1949.
• Walking tour with Philip Johnson, 1991
• “In the case of the Glass House, the stylistic approach is perfectly clear. Mies van
der Rohe and I had discussed how you could build a glass house and each of us
built one. Mies’ was, of course, primary and mine was an adoption from the
master, although it’s quite a different approach. In my case, there were a lot of
historical influences at work. The Glass House stylistically is a mixture of Mies
van der Rohe, Malevich, the Parthenon, the English garden, the whole Romantic
Movement, the asymmetry of the 19th century. In other words, all these things are
mixed up in it but basically it is the last of the modern, in the sense of the historic
way we treat modern architecture today, the simple cube.
• The Glass House started because of the land that was there. That was my
hardest job by far. I worked for three or four years throwing out ideas. And it was
all conditioned by the landscape itself. In finding that little knoll, I was in the
middle of the woods in the middle of the winter and I almost didn’t find it. I found
a great oak tree and I hung a whole design on the oak tree and the knoll because
this place. Don’t forget, it is more of a landscape park than it is a work of
architecture, anyhow. It’s more a memory of the English parks of the 18th
century, which are called English gardens, for some reason. There’s no garden
anywhere, I mean, there are no flowers, as Americans think of gardens. It’s just a
sort of a landscape in which I focused it on this knoll and this oak tree. And the
view from that knoll and the view back was how I figured the whole thing.
• I went through several stages. One was even with Romanesque arches all over the
place, brick, basically a stone and brick house. I finally, in despair of getting the
house on the knoll because the knoll is too small, I had to take half the house and
put it back against the hill, which is the way it is now. So I put a pavilion out on
the end so I could look around the world the way you can from a bandstand in a
Middle Western town. You stand on the bandstand in off-season and there’s the
town at your feet.
• I thought it’d be nice to have a place that you could swivel all the way around and
see the whole place, which is what you can do here. I claim that’s the only house
in the world where you can see the sunset and the moonrise at the same time,
standing in the same place. Because that’s an impossibility in any house; you
have to walk to another room to see one or the other of those effects. But I get it
all the time here in the Glass House.
• 1