Post Modernism

Introduction
 1930s and 40s, popular acceptance of modern
architecture,
 1940s and 1950s an internal critiques and crisis to
modern architecture
 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s a corresponding popular
rejection
 Modernism was viewed as excessively
minimalist,
anonymous,
monotonous, and
boring
 Postmodernism
• Moves away from the neutral white colours seen in modernism.
• It is known for the re-emergence of surface ornament, reference to its
surrounding buildings, and historical references.
• It was a time of revival of traditional elements and techniques.
• Post modernists did not believe to ignore past architecture but looked to
it in order to learn from it.
• It favoured personal preferences and variety over objective truths
and principles!
 Postmodernism
• Rejection of strict rules set by the early modernists and seeks exuberance
in the use of building techniques, angles, and stylistic references
• The functional and formalized shapes and spaces of the modernist
movement are replaced by diverse aesthetics.
 Characteristics of Postmodernism
• Characterized by the incorporation of historical details in a
hybrid rather than a pure style, by the use of decorative
elements, by a more personal and exaggerated style, and by
references to popular modes of building.
• "double coding": two or more styles which co-exist in
contradiction and/or self-mockery.
• Nonlinearity: Multiple styles, multiple goals Examples:
– Commercialism vs. anti—commercialism
– Violence vs. peace
• Influence of digital technology
• Inclusion of World cultures
• Visual culture: Fine art, craft, advertising
• Visual studies: Combination of visual culture and social
theory
 Characteristics…
 Classical references
Postmodern buildings often used elements
of classical architecture.

In most cases the use is decorative not

structural. Nor is it 'correct'.

 Postmodern architects did not follow the

strict principles of the classical style.

 For example, they deliberately combined

and exaggerated columns, arches and
rough masonry.
 They took elements from Greek temples
and applied them to buildings that had
entirely modern functions.
The effect is often quirky and playful.

 Exaggerated or abstract traditional

detailing Kengo Kuma, Doric Tokyo, 1991
 Characteristics…
• Columns Came back into
Existence

In Modernism, the traditional column

(as a design feature) was treated as a
cylindrical pipe form, replaced by
other technological means such as
cantilevers, or masked completely
by curtain wall façades.
Kengo Kuma,
The revival of the column was an M2
Tokyo, 1991
aesthetic, rather than a technological
necessity
 Characteristics…
Clash of scales
• Postmodern architecture often includes
elements that are clearly out of scale
with the rest of the building.

• This is most obvious where the building

borrows from other styles.
• The mixing of large and small classical
orders, the distortion and
exaggeration of motifs, can make a
building seem dramatic and grand.

• Architects also played with scale to

introduce surprise and a sense of fun.

Les Espaces d’Abraxas,

France, 1979-82
 Characteristics…
• Took past components of different styles and melded
them together to create new means of design.
 Characteristics…
 Colors came back to the façade
 Characteristics…
• Exterior as a whole
 Postmodern buildings were a stack of varied design
elements for a single vocabulary from ground level to the
top.
 Modern high-rise buildings had become monolithic

Bank of America Center in Houston, by John

Seagram Building, New York NY, Mies Burgee and Philip Johnson, completed 1983
van der Rohe with Philip Johnson 1958
 Characteristics…
Used classical styles in new combinations: pillars, Tourette,
arches, domes, curtain wall facades; green and roman
conventions
 Characteristics…
 Double Coding

Technology and symbolism (history)

Example : AT & T Building

The building is a tall skyscraper
which brings with it connotations
of very modern technology

The top section conveys elements

of classical antiquity
The Sony Building (formerly AT&T building) in
New York City, by Philip Johnson, 1984,
 Characteristics…
 Illusionistic building techniques

Postmodern buildings sometimes

utilize trompe l'oeil, creating the
illusion of space or depths where
none actually exist, as has been done
by painters since the Romans.

Forms filled with humor, irony,

ambiguity, contradiction

The Portland Building (1980) has

pillars represented on the side of the
building that to some extent appear Portland Public Services Building,
to be real, yet they are not Michael Graves, 1982.
 Characteristics…
• Thin Façades
Some Postmodern buildings have
thin fronts that are clearly distinct
from the rest of the building.
In some cases the thinness is
exaggerated as a visual joke.
– For example, the facade may dissolve into
the windows at the side of the building.

– On other buildings, the façades are treated as

little more than billboards or stage
backdrops.
– This allowed architects greater freedom of
expression in the design of the building
front.
China Wharf, London, by Piers
Gough, 1986-88
 Characteristics…
• Juxtaposition of styles
Blend of traditional, contemporary, and newly-invented forms

Reconciled differences between old and new generations (culture

wars)
Postmodern architecture takes old styles and updates them

Vanna Venturi
House, by
Robert Venturi,
1959-64
Postmodernism Vs. Modernism

• Both Modernism and Post-Modernism are too diverse to characterize

as simple opposites.
• Modern Movement focused primarily on: perfection harmony of form
and function dismissal of unnecessary ornaments not looking to any
past historical references or methods of construction.
• Modernism did not account for the desire of beauty!
– Ornaments were stripped away, and as a result buildings came to have a stark,
rational appearance.

• Functionalism and economical building

• Postmodernists felt the buildings of modern architecture failed to
meet the human need of comfort for both: the body and the eye !
Postmodernism Vs. Modernism
Venturi…
2. Michael Graves
Portland Public Services
Building, Micahel Graves
1982.

• 15-story municipal office

building

• icon of postmodern
architecture, first
building, opened before
AT & T

• use of a variety of surface

materials and colors, small
windows, and inclusion of
prominent decorative
flourishes, was in stark
contrast to the architectural
style most commonly used
for large office buildings at
3. Phillip Johnson
AT & T Building
Phillip Johnson

Phillip Johnson helped Mies van der

Rohe design the Seagram Building in
the 1950s, but in the ’70s he did the
opposite with the AT&T Building
(now called the Sony Building)

Phillip Johnson in 1978 with

model of AT&T building
Phillip Johnson…
Instead of a building made of sleek
glass and metal, this building is
predominantly masonry (only 30% of
the outside is glass) and revives a
classical architectural vocabulary…

Johnson & his associates divided

the building into three parts,
reminiscent of the three elevations
of a Greek temple – base, column
and pediment.

AT&T Building (New York), 1984.

Phillip Johnson…
The top slopes down like a pediment,
including a space in the middle known as
an orbiculum (similar to the look of 18th
century dressers)

Thin strips of masonry that make up the

center resembles the fluting of columns

Phillip Johnson, the AT&T Building

(New York), 1984. POSTMODERN
Phillip Johnson…
The entrance includes a massive round
arch, similar to a triumphal arch or a
Romanesque portal.
(Please note the modern-day looking
‘coffers’ and ‘rose window’)

Phillip Johnson, the AT&T Building

(New York), 1984. POSTMODERN