MODERNISM Its initial movements addis ababa university department

MODERNISM - Its initial movements addis ababa university – department of architecture p. 1

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE III – Lecture 2 - MODERNISM - Its initial movements MODERNISM the buildings and building practices of the late 19 th and the 20 th centuries New architecture rejected stylistic movements, and the technology and materials originated in the United States and Europe and spread from there to the rest of the world addis ababa university – department of architecture p. 2

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE III – Lecture 2 - MODERNISM - Its initial movements MODERNISM – architectural characteristics • asymmetrical design compositions • Open plan • use of cubic or rectangular or cylindrical shapes • flat roofs • use of reinforced concrete or steel • metal and glass frameworks often resulting in large windows in horizontal bands • Minimal or no ornamentation • tendency for white or cream render addis ababa university – department of architecture p. 3

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE III – Lecture 2 - MODERNISM - Its initial movements early modern architectural projects Modernism includes Futurism, Constructivism, De Stijl and Bauhaus. imaginative designs for a city of the future by Italian visionary Antonio Sant’Elia; addis ababa university – department of architecture houses with flowing interior spaces and projecting roofs by the American pioneer of modernism, Frank Lloyd Wright. the sleek villas of Swiss. French architect Le Corbusier; bold new factories in Germany by Peter Behrens and Walter Gropius; and steel and glass skyscrapers designed by German-born architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. p. 4

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE III – Lecture 2 - MODERNISM - Its initial movements Chicago School – Invention of skyscrapers . offered by the elevator the new steel and concrete technologies. . From October 8 to 10, 1871, a great fire killed at least 250 people, left 90, 000 sq km (about 4 sq mi) of central Chicago (nearly one-third of the total area). Following a disastrous fire in 1871, Chicago experienced a massive boom in new housing, warehouses, and commercial buildings. The collective response of a diverse group of architects to the reconstruction of the city led to the development of the skyscraper. addis ababa university – department of architecture p. 5

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE III – Lecture 2 - MODERNISM - Its initial movements Chicago School – Invention of skyscrapers by substituting steel in the structural system for cast iron, . clad the building’s exterior with traditional masonry Second Leiter Building, Chicago – 1891 First Leiter Building, Chicago – 1879 William Le Baron Jenney addis ababa university – department of architecture p. 6

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE III – Lecture 2 - MODERNISM - Its initial movements Chicago School – Invention of skyscrapers with the Reliance Building (18891895), which stood 16 stories high. 1. stripped away the ornamentation characteristic of most buildings at that time and 2. instead used tall windows to emphasize the beauty of the building’s skyward thrust. 3. eliminated Jenney’s heavy masonry exterior, creating a system known as curtain-wall construction. addis ababa university – department of architecture p. 7

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE III – Lecture 2 - MODERNISM - Its initial movements The age of machines German architects Walter. Gropius and Adolph Meyer Fagus Factory (1911, Alfeld-ander-Leine, Germany). The Fagus Factory had open glass corners and a flat roof that emphasized its simple postand-beam construction system. addis ababa university – department of architecture p. 8

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE III – Lecture 2 - MODERNISM - Its initial movements After World War I (1914 -1918): expressionism and rationalism. . Expressionism primarily to shock the public Erich Mendelsohn's Einstein Tower (19201924, Potsdam, Germany) a domed observatory atop the tower a radical change for architects moved toward forms that were visionary, fantastic and unconventional. addis ababa university – department of architecture p. 9

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE III – Lecture 2 - MODERNISM - Its initial movements Expressionism . Erich Mendelsohn's Einstein Tower (1920 -1924, Potsdam, Germany) a domed observatory explored the sculptural qualities in reinforced concrete rounded, free-form tower. sculptural forms and varied volumes tower is topped by a dome windows are set into sculptured recesses addis ababa university – department of architecture p. 10

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE III – Lecture 2 - MODERNISM - Its initial movements Expressionism . These give the illusion of a fairy grotto, a mysterious cave like atmosphere which helps prepare theatergoer for the coming drama on the stage. Hans Poelzig - Expressionist architect created a most unusual and imaginative design for a theatre in Berlin, the Grosses Schauspielhaus. The huge dome of the interior is studded with myriads of addis ababa university – department of architecture stalactite pendants tipped with reflectors p. 11

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE III – Lecture 2 - MODERNISM - Its initial movements Expressionism Bruno Taut- Glass Pavilion, Germany, 1914 His most original work was his Glass Pavilion, completed for an exhibition in Cologne in 1914. The walls of Taut’s building were Bruno Taut. Pavilion, Germany, of glass block, and even the. Glass treads and risers of the 1914 circular staircase were of glass. Inside, under the dome was a waterfall cascading down five levels. It was built for the German glass manufacturers. addis ababa university – department of architecture p. 12

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE III – Lecture 2 - MODERNISM - Its initial movements Expressionism Bruno Taut- Glass Pavilion, Germany, 1914 addis ababa university – department of architecture p. 13

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE III – Lecture 2 - MODERNISM - Its initial movements Rationalism Adolf Loos - Austrian architect • One of the pioneers of the modern. functional style in Europe • Influenced by the rationalist architecture of the Chicago School in the United States • he rejected then-current art nouveau style His opposition to ornamentation - his famous essay Ornament and Crime (1908) Steiner House (1910, Vienna), rigidly cubic and blocky in construction, was one of the first private residences constructed of reinforced concrete addis ababa university – department of architecture p. 14

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE III – Lecture 2 - MODERNISM - Its initial movements Futurism Antonio Sant’ Elia – Architect of Futurism, 1909 • Futurism was an Italian movement in the arts begun in 1909 by poet Filippo Marinetti. • glorify contemporary life, mainly by emphasizing its two dominant themes, the machine and motion • Futurist ofdone 1914 with He said “It Manifesto is time to be (Futurism). funereal decorative architecture; architecture must be something more vital than that; we can best attain that something by blowing sky high, for a start, all those monuments and monumental pavements, arcades and flights of steps. ” And “We no longer feel ourselves to be men of the cathedrals and ancient town halls, but men of the Grand stations, giant addis ababahotels, universityrailway – department of architecture p. 15

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE III – Lecture 2 - MODERNISM - Its initial movements Futurism Antonio Sant’ Elia – Architect of Futurism, 1909 Futurism was a violent protest against historical styles so embedded in Italian art and architecture. Futurist painters and architects found a new beauty in the machine, and glorified the mechanical aspects of art over traditional imitation of beauty. . But still, he is internationally known for an extraordinary series of drawings he created - design for an imaginary city which he called the Citta Nuova or New City addis ababa university – department of architecture p. 16

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE III – Lecture 2 - MODERNISM - Its initial movements Constructivism Form of modern architecture that flourished in the Soviet Union 1920 -1932 Combined advanced technology and engineering with a Communist social purpose • First famous project – Tatlin’s Tower • 1919 proposal • glass and steel • Abstract • Futuristic • Political slant symbolises revolution • Exposed materials • Intention to be taller than Eiffel Tower addis ababa university – department of architecture Tatlin's Tower – 1919 • • • Vladimir Tatlin have internal rotating elements that would house government offices some rotating once a day, some once a month, some once a year highly impractical monument never built exemplified tendencies of p. 17 modern art

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE III – Lecture 2 - MODERNISM - Its initial movements Constructivism Narkomtiazhprom, Vesnin brothers 1934 Collective Housing design Nikolai Ladovsky 1920 addis ababa university – department of architecture p. 18

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE III – Lecture 2 - MODERNISM - Its initial movements Art Deco The style known as art deco combined the exuberance of expressionism with the clean, . functional lines of rationalism. Named after an exposition of decorative art held in Paris in 1925, art deco rapidly spread through Europe and the United States. Streamlined art deco architecture mimicked the sleek design of ocean liners, but it also drew on the decorative qualities of art nouveau and the flowing forms of expressionism. addis ababa university – department of architecture p. 19

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE III – Lecture 2 - MODERNISM - Its initial movements Art Deco Art deco enjoyed the widest diffusion in the United States, where it was employed in the. design of many post offices and government buildings of the 1930 s. One of the premier art deco buildings is the Chrysler Building (1930) in New York City, a 77 -story celebration of one of the nation's largest automobile manufacturers, by architect William Van Alen. With its striking pyramid of shiny metal arches rising to the pinnacle and its stainless steel gargoyles based on the 1929 Chrysler hood ornament, it quickly became a New York City landmark. addis ababa university – department of architecture p. 20

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE III – Lecture 2 - MODERNISM - Its initial movements De Stijl Movement Dutch artistic movement 1917 -1931. Founded by Theo van Doesburg – writer, painter, designer and critic With painters - Piet Mondrian, Vilmos Huszàr, and Bart van der Leck And architects Gerrit Rietveld , Robert vant Hoff, and J. J. P. Oud Philosophy for the group’s work – New Plastic art – architecture and painting Simple and abstract – form and colour using only straight horizontal and vertical lines Squares and rectangular forms limited to the primary colours - red, yellow, and blue, and non colours - black, white, and grey assymetricality but balanced In 3 -dimensional works - vertical and horizontal lines do not intersect Each element exists independently and unobstructed addis ababa university – department of architecture p. 21

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE III – Lecture 2 - MODERNISM - Its initial movements De Stijl Movement • Best examples - Rietveld Schröder House and the Red and. Blue Chair Composition with Yellow, Blue, and Red, The Rietveld Schröder “Red and Blue House 1939– 42, Chair” by Gerrit Piet Mondrian 1923 -24 Rietveld - in 1917 Oil on canvas; 72. 5 x 69 Gerrit Rietveld cm addis ababa university – department of architecture p. 22