Architectural discourse from the illustrated French

Dictionary of Architecture (1856) by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc

AAAArchitectural Styles

Neolithic

Mesopotamian

Persia

Ancient Greek

Byzantine

Islamic

Gothic

Classicism Neoclassical

Gothic Revival

Art Nouveau

Modern AAAArchitectural StylesAncient Egyptian

Mayan

Mesoamerican

Roman

Romanesque

Renaissance

Baroque

Neo-Renaissance

Neo-Baroque Expressionism

ModernismePostmodern

Contemporary

Carlo Maderno

façade of Saint Peter’s

Vatican City, Rome, Italy

“Architectural style is a way of classifying architecture largely by morphological & historical characteristics:

• Form• Techniques• Materials• Materials• Time Period• Region• Other Stylistic Influences

It is a way of classifying architecture that gives emphasis to characteristic features of design, leading to a terminology.

Architectural TheoriesThematic

ANTIQUITY

MIDDLE AGES

RENAISSANCE

ENLIGHTENMENT

19TH CENTURY

20TH CENTURY

Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Anonymous tradition of trade guilds

Alberti, Vignola, Palladio

Structurialism: Galileo Galilei, Robert Hooke

Industrial Age

Early Modernism

Architectural Theories

Thematic

20TH CENTURY

MODERNISM

POSTMODERNISM

CONTEMPORARY

Early Modernism

Functionalism: Walter Gropius, Louis Sullivan, etc.

Robert Venturi

Starchitects

Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

– Author of the oldest research on architecture

– Wrote an extensive summary of all the theory on construction

– Had a thorough knowledge of earlier Greek and Roman writings

“Ten Books on Architecture”

– De architectura libri decem

– Consists mostly of normative theory of design (based on practice)

ANTIQUITY

Consists mostly of normative theory of design (based on practice)

– A collection of thematic theories of design with no method of combining them into a synthesis

– Presents a classification of requirements set for buildings:

: DURABILTIY (firmitas)

: PRACTICALITY or “convenience” (utilitas)

: PLEASANTNESS (venustas)

Architectural Theories

Thematic

Vitruvian Rules of Aesthetic Form

– Based on Greek traditions of architecture

– Teachings of Pythagoras : applying proportions of numbers

– Observations of tuned string of instruments

– Proportions of human body

– PLEASANTNESS

ANTIQUITY

– PLEASANTNESS

: in accordance of good taste

: parts follow proportions

: symmetry of measures

Architectural Theories

Thematic

THEORIES in the MIDDLE AGES

• No documents– no person can be attributed for theories

• Monastery Institutions– Most documents retrieved from the Middle Ages

– However, archives contain only few descriptions of buildings

– Described only as “according to the traditional model”

– “There’s no accounting for tastes” was the rule of thumb– “There’s no accounting for tastes” was the rule of thumb

• Development of Building Style– With hardly or no literary research present

– Villard de Hannecourt’s “sketchbook” in 1235

– Rotzer’s Booklet on the right way of making pinnacles

– Only through guidance of old masters

– Tradition binding and precise in close guilds of builders

STRUCTURALIST

Building Material Architectural Form

Amorphous material:

Soft stone; snow

Spherical vaulted

construction

Sheets of skin or textile Cone-shaped tent Sheets of skin or textile Cone-shaped tent

construction

Logs of wood Box-shaped

construction

CONSTRUCTION THEORY• Before Written Construction Theory

– Architecture created without the help of architects or theory

– Builders used a model instead of mathematical algorithms now used in modern construction

– Inverted “catenary” model

• Semi-Circular Vault : Theory by Virtue• Semi-Circular Vault : Theory by Virtue

– “ When there are arches… the outermost piers must be made broader than the others so that they may have the strength to resist when the wedges under the pressure of the load of the walls, begins to thrust to the abutments.”

• During Middle Ages

– No written documents survived about theories or models to describe the magnificent vaults of medieval cathedrals

CONSTRUCTION THEORY• During Renaissance

– From Alberti onwards, architects began specializing

– Mathematical models by Francis Bacon and Galileo Galilei

: considers load and scientific studies

: contributed to constructions

– 1675 : Marquis de Vauban founded a building depatment in the French army – 1675 : Marquis de Vauban founded a building depatment in the French army called “ Corps des Ingenieurs”

– 1747 : Ecole des Ponts et Chaussees, special school founded in Paris where new profession specializing in construction was organized.• first engineering school

– Other figures of mathematical construction theory

: Robert Hooke

: Jakob Bernoulli

: Leonard Euier

RENNAISANCE THEORIES

• 1948 – a copy of Virtue manuscript found at St. Gallen Monastery

• Leon Bautista Alberti (1404-72)

– Person in charge of constructions commanded by Pope

– “On Building”

: De re aedifficatoria: De re aedifficatoria

: one of the greatest works of the theory of architecture

: completed in 1452, published in 1485

: more emphasis on decoration of building exteriors

• Sebastino Serlio

– “Regole generall di architectura”

RENNAISANCE THEORIES

• Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola

– “Regola delle cinque ordini”

– Concise, facts and easily applicable rules of the five column systems

– Based his design instructions on four things:

: idea of Pythagoras

: proportions of small number: proportions of small number

: properties and other instruments

: good taste

• Andrea Palladio (1508-80)

– “I Quattro libri dell’architectura”

– The father of modern picture books of architecture

• Philibert de L’orme

– One of French theorist who are critical of italians

– Prove that Pantheon’s Corinthian columns had 3 different proportions

– Rejected the doctrine of absolute beauty of measures

PERSONAL STYLE

• Copying from Antiquity– Architecture form antiquity came to a print of perfection

• Eugene Viollet-le-Duc (1863)

: the first theorist who set out to create a totally new system of architectural forms independent of antiquity

“What we call taste is but an involuntary process of reasoning whose steps elude our observation. Authority has no value if its grounds are not explained.”

: the foundation of modern architecture

: did not create a timeless architectural style himself, he showed others the philosophical foundation and method that they could use to develop even radically new form language

• Owen Jones : used forms inspired from nature, especially plants

ART NOUVEAU

• The first architectural style independent of the

tradition of antiquity after the Gothic style

• The example set by Art Nouveau encourage some of • The example set by Art Nouveau encourage some of

the most skillful architects of the 20th century to

create their private form language

THEORETICAL TREATISES

• Five points of Architecture (1926, Le Corbusier)1. Pilotis

2. free plan

3. free façade

4. the long horizontal sliding window

5. the roof garden5. the roof garden

• Architecture as Space (Bruno Zeri)– “The crux of architecture is not the sculptural pattern, but instead the building interiors. These

can be seen as “negative solids”, as voids which the artist divides, combines, repeats and emphasizes in the same way as the sculptor treats his “positive” lumps of substance.”

– The “personal style” of architects are not necessarily based on laws of nature or on logical reasoning. More important is that they exhibit a coherent application of an idea which also must be clear that the public can find it out. An advantage is also if the style includes symbolical undertones.

MODERN ARCHITECTURE

• Industrial Revolution (1768)

– Arts and Crafts Movementa. Conservative

b. William Morris

c. John Ruskinc. John Ruskin

– Electicisma. architecture of borrowing

• Fruits of Industrial Revolution– Joseph Paxton – Crystal Palace, 1851

– Elisha Graves Otis – Elevator, 1857

– Manufacturing of “Rolled Steel”

MODERN ARCHITECTURE

1870’s

• The Great Fire of Chicago, 1871

– downtown in Chicago was burned and in needs of construction of new buildings

– place where first tallest building was constructed

William Le Baron Jenney• William Le Baron Jenney– made the first skyscraper

• Daniel Burnham– “make no little plans, they have no magic to stir man’s blood”

• Louis Sullivan– “form follows function”

MODERN ARCHITECTURE

1880’s– Chicago School became the concentration of architectural

development

– introduce Chicago Window– introduce Chicago Window

1890’s

• The World Columbian Exposition– built in 1863

– chief architect: Daniel Burnham and Frederick Law Olmsted

MODERN ARCHITECTURE

1900’s

• European architecture was notified

• Person to notify:

– Otto Wagner

– Adolf Loos “ornament is a crime”

– H.P. Berlage

– Frank Llyod Wright

MODERN ARCHITECTURE

1910’s

• Office of Peter Behrens

– Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe “less is more”

– Walter Gropius

– Le Corbusier– Le Corbusier

• 2 Art movements that influenced

– Futurism – simultaneity of movement

– Cubism – interpretation of space

MODERN ARCHITECTURE1920’s

• The Bauhaus

– “Art and Technology, the new unity”

– Established architects

• Frank Llyod Wright “organic architecture”

• Le Corbusier• Le Corbusier

• Mies Van Der Rohe / Gropius

1930’s

• International Style

1950’s

• The period of Reassessment

– Universalism

– Personalism

POSTMODERNISM

• The center of Postmodernism:

– Robert Venturi “less is bore”

• Philip Johnson• Philip Johnson

– say that a portion of Chippendale building in New

York has no function

– Introduce the element of “Discovery”

POSTMODERNISM• SYMBOLIC ARHITECTURE

– “Building as a message”

• Mathematical Analogy

• Biological Analogy

– use of plants and ornaments

• Romantic Architecture• Romantic Architecture

– uses exotic language of form

– vastness; trying to surprise; huge

• Linguistic Analogies

– grammar; uses words with proper grammar

• Mechanical Analogies

– Buckminter Fuller

• Ad Hoc Analogy

– any materials that you can get or available in your environment such as wood in forest

• Stage Analogy

Modern ArchitectureModern ArchitectureGrowth, Efficiency and Modernism

“Modern architecture is generally characterized

by simplification of form and creation of

ornament from the structure and theme of the

building. It is a term applied to an overarching

“building. It is a term applied to an overarching

movement, with its exact definition and scope

varying widely. (Wikipedia)

Historical & Theoretical Basis

• early modern architecture began at the turn of the 20th century with efforts to reconcile the principles underlying architectural design with rapid technological advancement and the modernization of society

• it would take the form of numerous movements, schools of design, and architectural styles, some in tension with one another, and often equally defying such classification.

• the concept of modernism would be a central theme in these efforts.

Modernism

• The term describes the modernist movement,

its set of cultural tendencies and array of

associated cultural movements, originally arising

from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to

Western society in the late 19th and early 20th

centuries.

Modernism

• Modernism was a revolt against the conservative

values of realism.

• The most paradigmatic motive (motif) of modernism • The most paradigmatic motive (motif) of modernism

is the rejection of tradition and its reprise,

incorporation, rewriting, recapitulation, revision

and parody in new forms.

Modernism

• Modernism rejected the lingering certainty of

Enlightenment thinking and also rejected the existence

of a compassionate, all-powerful Creator God in favor

of the abstract, unconventional, largely uncertain ethic of the abstract, unconventional, largely uncertain ethic

brought on by modernity, initiated around the turn of

century by rapidly changing technology and further

catalyzed by the horrific consequences of World War I

on the cultural psyche of artists.

Characteristics

• a rejection of historical styles as a source of architectural form (historicism)

• an adoption of the principle that the materials and functional requirements determine the resultfunctional requirements determine the result

• use of industrially-produced materials, an adoption of the machine aesthetic

Characteristics

• a rejection of ornament

• a simplification of form and elimination of "unnecessary detail“

• particularly in International Style modernism, a visual • particularly in International Style modernism, a visual emphasis on horizontal and vertical lines

• the related concept of "Truth to materials", meaning that the true nature or natural appearance of a material ought to be seen rather than concealed or altered to represent something else

Modern Architecture

As Characterized by the Masters of Modern Architecture

Frank Lloyd Wright, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe,

Le Corbusier, Oscar Niemeyer, Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Oscar Niemeyer, Alvar Aalto,

Walter Gropius and Louis I Kahn.

“A house is a

machine for

living in.

Le Corbusier

“living in.

“Form follows function - that has

been misunderstood. Form and

function should be one, joined in “

Frank Lloyd Wright

function should be one, joined in

a spiritual union.

“Our guiding principle was that

design is neither an intellectual

nor a material affair, but simply

an integral part of the stuff of

Walter Gropius

an integral part of the stuff of

life, necessary for everyone in a

civilized society.

Gropius House, 1938

Embassy of the United States in Athens, 1959-1961

“Less is more.

Mies van der Rohe

“Less is more.

Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne

International Congress of Modern Architecture

CIAM

Founded in 1928 in

Switzerland, dissolved in 1959

due to the differing

perceptions of the members.

It is an organization with

conferences and meetings conferences and meetings

which are held in collective

works, discussions, resolutions

and publications marking the

beginning of the academic

period of modern architecture.

The New World

“Ford” and “Rolls Royce” have burst open the core of the town, obliterating distance and

effacing the boundaries between town and country. Aircraft slip through the air: “Fokker”

and “Farman” widen our range of movement and the distance between us and the earth;

they disregard national frontiers and bring nation closer to nation. Illuminated signs

twinkle, loud-speakers screech, posters advertise, display windows shine forth. The

simultaneity of events enormously extends our concept of “space and time,” it enriches our simultaneity of events enormously extends our concept of “space and time,” it enriches our

life. We live faster and therefore longer… The precise division into hours of the time we

spend working in office and factory and the split-minute timing of railway timetables make

us live more consciously… Radio, marconigram, and phototelegraphy liberate us from our

national seclusion and make us part of a world community. The gramophone, microphone,

orchestrion, and pianola accustom our ears to the sound of impersonal-mechanized

rhythms… Large blocks of flats, sleeping cars, house yachts, and transatlantic liners

undermine the local concept of the “homeland.” The fatherland goes into decline. We

learn Esperanto. We become cosmopolitan. [Hannes Meyer, in his 1926 essay, “The New World”]

CIAM: Rethinking Architecture

Its foundation marks the

determination of Modernist

architects to promote and

finesse their theories. For nearly

thirty years the great questions

of urban living, space, and of urban living, space, and

belonging were discussed by

CIAM members. The documents

they produced, and the

conclusions they reached, had a

tremendous influence on the

shape of cities and towns the

world over.

Il'ia Golosov's Zuev House of Culture — Workers' Club (1928)

CIAM: Rethinking Architecture

The organisation's founding

declaration was signed by twenty-

four architects at La Sarraz,

Switzerland, in 1928. None of the

signatories was British.

The La Sarraz Declaration asserted The La Sarraz Declaration asserted

that architecture could no longer

exist in an isolated state separate

from governments and politics, but

that economic and social conditions

would fundamentally affect the

buildings of the future.

28 European architects organized by Le Corbusier, Helene and Siegfried

Giedion Mandrot. Karl Moser, Hendrik Berlage, Victor Bourgeois, Pierre

Chareau, Josef Frank, Gabriel Guevrekian, Max Ernst Haefeli, Hugo Häring,

Arnold Hochel, Huib Hoste, Pierre Jeanneret, André Lurçat, Ernst May,

Fernando Garcia Mercadal, Hannes Meyer, Werner Moser, Carlo Enrico Rava,

Gerrit Rietveld, Alberto Sartoris, Hans Schmidt, Mart Stam, Rudolf Steiger,

Szymon Syrkus, Henri-Robert Von der Mühll and Juan de Zavala. Then join

Alvar Aalto, Uno Ahren, Louis Herman De Koninck, Fred Forbat, and Harwell

Hamilton Harris.

CIAM: Rethinking Architecture

"The main goal and purpose that has

brought us here is to assemble the

different elements of contemporary

architecture in a harmonious whole,

and give a real sense of architecture,

social, and economic." Helene of social, and economic." Helene of

Mandrot, Switzerland, 1 Congress.

Le Corbusier and other members of CIAM having some fun at the

La Sarraz Conference (1928)

CIAM: Rethinking Architecture

The Declaration also asserted that as

society became more industrialised,

it was vital that architects and the

construction industry rationalise

their methods, embrace new

technologies and strive for greater technologies and strive for greater

efficiency.

(Le Corbusier, one of the

movement's founders, often liked to

compare the standardised efficiency

of the motor industry with the

inefficiency of the building trade.)Antonio Sant'Elia, sketch of a building and

roadway from La Citta Nuova (1914)

CIAM: Rethinking Architecture

CIAM's early attitudes towards town-planning

were stark: "Urbanisation cannot be conditioned

by the claims of a pre-existent aestheticism; its

essence is of a functional order… the chaotic

division of land, resulting from sales,

speculations, inheritances, must be abolished by speculations, inheritances, must be abolished by

a collective and methodical land policy.“

At this early stage the desire to re-shape cities

and towns is clear. Out is the "chaotic" jumble of

streets, shops, and houses which existed in

European cities at the time; in is a zoned city,

comprising of standardised dwellings and

different areas for work, home, and leisure.

The Athens Charter

The fourth CIAM Congress in 1933 (theme: "The

Functional City") consisted of an analysis of thirty-four

cities and proposed solutions to urban problems. The

conclusions were published as "The Athens Charter" (so-

called because the Congress was held on board the SS

Patris en route from Marseilles to Athens). Patris en route from Marseilles to Athens).

This document remains one of the most controversial

ever produced by CIAM. The charter effectively

committed CIAM to rigid functional cities, with citizens to

be housed in high, widely-spaced apartment blocs. Green

belts would separate each zone of the city. The Charter

was not actually published until 1943, and its influence

would be profound on public authorities in post-war

Europe.

Participants at the international CIAM-4 conference

in Athens (1933)

The End of CIAM

It didn't take long for

architects to question the

conclusions reached at

Athens, and to worry publicly

about the sterility of the city

envisioned by CIAM. envisioned by CIAM.

Geometric, Sunken Roadways between Columns of

Buildings in Le Corbusier's "Ville Radieuse" (1930

The End of CIAM

Chief among these doubters were young

British architects Alison and Peter

Smithson, who led a breakaway from

CIAM in 1956. Three years previously they

had outlined their concerns: "Man may

readily identify himself with his own readily identify himself with his own

hearth, but not easily with the town

within which it is placed. 'Belonging' is a

basic emotional need- its associations are

of the simplest order. From 'belonging'-

identity- comes the enriching sense of

neighbourliness. The short narrow street

of the slum succeeds where spacious

redevelopment frequently fails.”

"International Style" Exhibition organized at MoMA in New York by

Philip Johnson & others (1932)

The End of CIAM

The Smithsons worried that CIAM's

ideal city would lead to isolation and

community breakdown, just as

European governments were

preparing to build tower blocks in

their ruined cities.their ruined cities.

Cartesian towers from Le Corbusier's Ville Radieuse

(1930)

The End of CIAM

The last CIAM meeting was held in

1956. By the mid-1950s it was clear

that the official acceptance of

Modernism was stronger than ever,

and yet the concerns voiced by the

Smithsons and their allies that the Smithsons and their allies that the

movement was in danger of creating

an urban landscape which was

hostile to social harmony, would rise

to a crescendo in the decades to

come. J.J.P. Oud, Industrialized Housing in Rotterdam

The Legacy of CIAM

The CIAM is a revolutionary movement in

contemporary architecture since it arises from

a socio-economic need of change. We think it's

admirable that a group of architects to come

together to try to compose new ideas

emerging from its disagreement with the emerging from its disagreement with the

architecture at that time. Several theories

raised are still being used today and were great

contributions to architecture and urbanism in

general. In conclusion we believe that the

CIAM was an event that marked the destiny of

architecture both economically and socially

and provided the first ideas of planning for the

design of cities.Ad for Mercedes-Benz, 1927, outside Le Corbusier's

Weißenhof house

"For twenty years, many as their existence,

convinced I was a member of CIAM. Now I think it

is time to express how much this has meant to me

international town of architects and planners

during the long struggle of modern architecture.

The most important fact was that in a world filled

with confusion and partial attempts, a small with confusion and partial attempts, a small

international group of architects felt the need to

collect in full view the multitude of problems I had

in front. The decision to place this concept all over

each limited purpose determined our position, our

belief, our faith." Gropius, Walter, "CIAM :1928-

1953" in Scope of Total Architecture, Harper &

Brothers, New York, 1955

Walter Gropius D 51 Armchair

"Our jobs are meaningless

without discussion. Deliberation

is equivalent to report [...]. Our

reports are very important. I

would prefer that Congress would prefer that Congress

exposed some erroneous

discussion is lost in an analysis

without end "

Nikolai Kolli, Le Corbusier, and others in Russia (1930)

CIAM succeeded in developing new architectural

ideas into a coherent movement, but Modernists

would spend many years defending, and often

undoing, its legacy.

Colored sketch of Le Corbusier's proposal for his Ville Radieuse (1930)

Postmodern Architecture

The Death of Modernism

““At 3:32 pm, 15 July, 1972, Modernism came to an end.Charles Jencks, architectural historian

““The city of modern architecture, both as a

psychological construct and a physical model, has

been rendered tragically ridiculous... the city of Le

Corbusier, the city celebrated by CIAM and advertised

by the Athens Charter, the former city of deliverance

is everyday found increasingly inadequate.Colin Rowe, Fred Koetter (1976). Collage City.

Pruitt–Igoe, St. Louis, Missouri

Minoru Yamasaki, 1954

Pruitt–Igoe, St. Louis, Missouri

Minoru Yamasaki, 1954

Pruitt–Igoe, St. Louis, Missouri

Minoru Yamasaki, 1954

““The city of modern architecture, both as a

psychological construct and a physical model, has

been rendered tragically ridiculous... the city of Le

Corbusier, the city celebrated by CIAM and advertised

by the Athens Charter, the former city of deliverance

is everyday found increasingly inadequate.Colin Rowe, Fred Koetter (1976). Collage City.

The Death and Life of Great American Cities Jane Jacobs , 1961

Jacobs examined Modernist housing developments like Pruitt

Igoe and asked what it was like to actually live in them.

She argued that they were dehumanizing because they deny

individuality, provoke social malaise and lead to crime and

vandalism. Jacobs concluded that Modernist architecture is

mentally and socially damaging.

Postmodern Architecture

The Return of Wit, Ornament & Reference

Postmodern ArchitectureMajor Architects

Robert Venturi

Charles Moore

Hans Hollein

Phillip Johnson

James Stirling

Aldo Rossi

Modern Architecture

• Rejected the forms and values of a previous age – particularly

the revival of historic styles, ornamentation and decoration

• Offered a democratic and utopian solution to the problems of

mass production – good design for allmass production – good design for all

• Argued that aesthetic beauty would naturally arise out of

reason and “truth” – embodied in ideas such as form follows

function, truth to materials

• Evolved a simple, pure and unifying aesthetic reflected in Mies

Van Der Rohe’s dictum, “less is more”

“In its simplest form postmodernism is most

clearly understood in terms of its rejection of

the values, forms and theories associated with “

the values, forms and theories associated with

Modernism or Modernity.

“Less is a bore.

Robert Charles Venturi, Jr.

“Less is a bore.

“Architecture can no longer afford to be intimidated by the

puritanically moral language of orthodox Modern architecture. I like

elements which are hybrid rather than pure, compromising rather

than clean, distorted rather than straightforward, ambiguous rather

than articulated, perverse as well as impersonal, boring as well as than articulated, perverse as well as impersonal, boring as well as

interesting, conventional rather than designed, accommodating

rather than excluding, redundant rather than simple, vestigial as well

as innovating, inconsistent and equivocal rather than direct and

clear. I am for messy vitality over obvious unity”

Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture. 1966

Vanna Venturi House

Inside the Seattle Art Museum

Sainsbury Wing of the National Gallery, London

Chapel at the Episcopal Academy, Newtown Square, PA. (2010)

“Pick very few

objects and place

them exactly.

Philip Johnson

them exactly.

Philip Johnson at age 95 with his model of a

30' by 60' sculpture created for a Qatari

collector.

Puerta de Europa in Madrid

The postmodern AT&T Building, now the Sony Building PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 2007

One Detroit Center from Jefferson Avenue in Detroit.