L4: Post Modernism and Critical Regionalism

Post modernism

• A late-20th-century style and concept in the arts, architecture, and criticism

• A reaction to modernism

• Represents a departure from modernism

• General distrust of grand theories and ideologies

• The term is associated with scepticism, irony and philosophical critiques of the concepts of universal truths and objective reality.

Post Modern Architecture

• Style which emerged in the 1960s as a reaction against the austerity, formality, and lack of variety of modern architecture

• Formally introduced by the architect and urban planner Denise Scott Brown and architectural theorist Robert Venturi in their 1972 book Learning from Las Vegas.

• Flourished from the 1980s-1990s

• Some buildings built after this period are still considered postmodern.

• Denise Scott Brown

• Robert Venturi

• Post modern Architecture was Formally introduced by the architect and urban planner _________ and architectural theorist _________ in their 1972 book Learning from Las Vegas.

Robert Venturi

“Less is a bore.”

Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture

• book written by Robert Venturi

Robert Venturi

• Postmodernism’s main character is emphasized in the façade:

  • Incorporation of historical elements

  • A subtle use of unusual materials and historical allusions

  • Use of fragmentation and modulations to make the building interesting

Denise Scott Brown

“Buildings should be built for people, and architecture should listen to them.”

Denise Scott Brown

• Architect and Urban planner

• “FFF Studios”

  • Systematic approach to planning

  • form, forces, and function determine and help define the urban environment

Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown

• Urged architects to celebrate the existing architecture in a place, rather than to try to impose a visionary utopia from their own fantasies.

• Understand the city in terms of social, economic and cultural perspectives

• Studies the trends of an area, marking future expansions or congestions.

• Ornamental and decorative elements “accommodate existing needs for variety and communication”

• Advocated new ways of thinking about buildings

Ducks and Decorated Sheds

• are the 2 architectural typologies identified by Venturi and Scott-Brown in Las Vegas

Michael Graves

“Architecture cannot divorce itself from drawing, no matter how impressive the technology gets. Drawings are not just end products: they are part of the thought process of architectural design. Drawings express the interaction of our minds, eyes and hands.”

Michael Graves

• Modernist architect in the 60s and 70s

• Longtime faculty member at Princeton

• Designs had Cubist-inspired elements and strong, saturated colors

• Work is famous for “playful style” and “colorful facades”

• Confusion and Contradiction

• Arbitrary decorations

• Fragmentation

• Curvinear and assymetrival forms

• Color

• Humor and sculpture

Postmodern Architecture Characteristics

Critical Regionalism

• This counters the placelessness and lack of identity of the International Style and rejects the whimsical individualism and ornamentation of Postmodern architecture

• It believes that both modern and postmodern architecture are deeply problematic.

Critical Regionalism

• Architecture rooted in the modern tradition, but tied to geographical and cultural context.

• Not simply modern vernacular architecture

• Seeks to mediate between the global and the local languages of architecture.

• Contextual Sensitivity

• Use of Local Materials

• Human Scale

• Climatic responsiveness

• Integration of landscape

Key features of Critical Regionalism

Contextual Sensitivity

• Key feature of CR

• Buildings that fit seamlessly into their natural and cultural surroundings.

Use of Local Materials

• Key feature of CR

• Materials that are native to the area reflect the local environment

Human Scale

• Consider the [local] human scale and interaction with the built environment.

Climatic Responsiveness

• Key feature or CR

• Adapting local climate conditions to improve comfort and efficiency.

Integration of Landscape

• Key feature or CR

• Blending the built form with the natural landscape to create harmony.

Kenneth Frampton

• Architect, historian, author and architecture critic

• Studied architecture at the Guildford School of Art and the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London

• Published essay “Towards a Critical Regionalism: Six Points for an Architecture of Resistance” (1983

1. Culture vs. Civilization

2. Megaforms

3. Place-forms

4. Culture & Topography

5. The Visual vs. The Tactile

6. The Critique of the Modernist

Kenneth Frampton’s 6 Points of Critical Regionalism

Culture vs. Civilization

• Critical Regionalism resists the dominance of universal civilization while acknowledging the importance of progress.

Megaforms

• Architecture should respond to the uniqueness of its site and community

Place-forms

• Architecture should be deeply rooted in the specific characteristics of a place, rather than adhering to globalized, placeless design trends.

Culture & Topography

• Buildings should respond to the landscape rather than dominate it.

The Visual vs. the Tactile

• Frampton emphasizes the importance of engaging all senses in experiencing architecture, not just the visual.

The Critique of the Modernist "Glass-and-Steel" Aesthetic

• He critiques the overuse of industrial materials and internationalist aesthetic

Glenn Murcutt

• Australian architect and Pritzker Prize Awardee

• Early architecture influenced by Mies, but he realized the importance of understanding the impacts of Australia’s climate and landscape on architecture

• Analyzed and reinterpreted the key elements of Australian vernacular architecture

• Design solutions that responded to the Australian contexts.

Minette De Silva

• 1st Sri Lankan woman to be trained as an architect

• Recognized for her contributions to developing 'regional modernism for the tropics’

Balkrishna Doshi

• Indian architect

• Pritzker Prize awardee (2018) and Aga Khan Award for Architecture

• Worked under Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn

• Noted for his contributions to the evolution of architectural discourse in India