Point : Explorations

The explorations unit takes a stand as an ever-changing expressions eventually turned into a sort of paste to slap on whatever decorative ideas come to mind in an half hour tv special. The beginning of this unit did not start with the rise of HGTV however. Some of the most renowned styles especially in American architectecture we still can see now in major cities like New York where Art Deco structures stand solid in form through examples like the Empire State building. Lavish surfaces compiled with symbolic meaning of making ones own fortune and the rise of industry invest an incredible amount of solidity to structures like the Daily Express building whose exotic materials and shiny surfaces only add to a vision of glamour backed up by an ever-growing film industry. In an opposite response to all of this glitz and glamour, Bauhaus or International style rose in the early 1920s to settle problems of excess and functionality that had plagued buildings for centuries prior. The introduction of new materials had already come into play long before this movement, but with the exception of art neveaux interiors, never had steel been celebrated so blatantly without reference to ancient Roman form. Marcel Breuer’s Wassily chair is a supreme example of a product fresh out of the international style which “ emulated the lightness and strength of the bicycle form in choosing tubular steel for the construction of his cantilever chairs” ( 75, Massey). This rejection of frivolous add-ons inspired one of the great residences of the time to come into being. Spoken highly of in my reading comprehension 7 response, is German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rhoe’s Tugenhat house. While still keeping a steady blend of lavish materials and functionality in its design, the Tugenhat house bridges the gap between surface and substance. On the same spectrum but very far away in my opinion is another minimalist response called Villa Savoy. Le Corbusier’s work explains the notion of functionality in a minimalist approach, but remains cold and austere throughout its surface. Softer modernism like Alvar Aalto’s Villa Mairea brought in much more wood accents along with curvilinear forms that brought warmth to the home perhaps because their contrast was not as stark as examples like Villa Savoy against their outside environment. Sculptural modernism seen in Eero Saarinen’s TWA terminal in the JFK International Airport take literal examples of taking flight to a new level leaving only gravity to define what are walls, ceilings and floors are. Whether you like them or not, all of the building’s above could be considered successes of their time, but not all modernist building could be considered in such a high esteem. As TWA airport successfully conveyed monumental symbolism Jorn Utzon’s rising shells on the Sydney Opera house did not function as intended. The acoustics were completely off turning a $131 million dollar project into a $400 million dollar one, bring truer the question if modern architecture could express its character while still achieving the principles of commodity and firmness. With this in mind, the Post-modernist era came at hand bringing in three major realms; Historic Preservation, Regionalism, and Deconstuctivism that attempted and are still attempting to figure it all out. Computer technology was founded making the framework of Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim in Bilbao Spain possible. “Suggesting that fundamentally, a building exists as an isolated abstract phenomenon” (600, Roth) many deconstructionist buildings disrupt the traditional way we look at architecture. All of this is made possible of course, by the rise of technology. Historic preservation recalls returning to the old. Regionalism promotes forming buildings to their site without any search for international commodity but rather local. In the end though, all three approaches take sustainability into account. As citizens concern towards renewable resources grew in the past decades, buildings adapted too in order to lessen or eliminate excess of buildings. Architecture is meant to support and facilitate the human community but can only do so if it reaches three expanding principles. From the ancient Egyptian pyramids to the IBM tower, the elements of architectural perfection trace back to Sir Henry Wotton’s conditions of commodity, firmness and delight. These interpretative conditions cover architecture through out the years past, present and even my own future design work to come.

I choose the image above as an interesting example of historical preservation piled with a deconstructionist approach, the glass almost looks as it could fold down into a flat pile while its base remains sturdy and heavy in materiality on the ground.