Modern Architecture Vocabulary

Monumentality

Monumentality

Qualities of grandeur and awe tied to a building achieved through scale, location and design qualities

Ex: Jonas Salk Institute for Biological Studies; Louis Kahn

• Monumentality achieved through use of heavy concrete and stone, strong geometric order and axiality as well as symmetry

Beton Brut

Literally “raw concrete”; refers to a form of construction where concrete is left unfinished and the rough texture is exposed. Gave way to the term “brutalism” when mistranslated into English

Ex: Unite d’Habitation; Corbusier

• textures from board forms were left on the final facade

Brutalism

Bold geometric forms that demonstrate “material honesty”, usually achieved through rough, unfinished concrete. Often seen by architects as a revolutionary way of expressing form, transparency and engagement with space, but usually perceived by the general public as cold, intimidating and uninviting

Ex: Boston City Hall; Mckinnel and Kallmann

• Rough unfinished concrete and bold geometric volumes that express the interior program.

Megastructure

Post-war concept of a massive urban form composed of a single man-made structure or a series of smaller structures connected together. Popularized through Japanese post-war modernism

Ex. Tokyo Bay Project; Kenzo Tange

• A large grid forms the base bone of the megastructure, with occupiable spaces that can be added or removed as needed

Pop Architecture

Architecture that referenced popular contemporary culture through a bold and playful style

Ex. Plug-in City; Archigram

• Sought to bring fun and play into architectural representation

• radical vision for a futuristic, mobile, and adaptable urban environment

Served and Servant Spaces

Design methodology where certain spaces exist to support main, actively used spaces

Ex. Jonas Salk Institue; Louis Kahn

• Buildings contain open lab spaces with thickened ceilings. The cavity within the ceiling acts as “servant space” to the “served” lab space, housing utilities and machinery

Case study house program

A program through the Arts and Architecture Magazine that published modern, single family homes. Sought to showcase new materials and techniques to help meet post-war housing needs.

Ex. Case Study House 22, Pierre Koenig

• Extreme cantilever off of cliff and the use of massive glass sheets for windows showcased new technology and innovation

Domestcity

Domestic architecture centered around an ideal of the nuclear family living in the suburbs

Ex: Levittown, William Levitt

• Massive post-war housing development on LI; mass produced housing that gave birth to the modern suburb

• Discriminatory policies only allowed homes to be sold to white families; promoted a very limited interpretation of domestic life

Urban renewal

Demolishing old “blighted” areas of cities deemed unfit and replacing it with modern development. Red lined areas were mostly targeted, predominantly displacing low-income, minority residents

Ex. West End Urban Renewal

• The entire West End neighborhood was demolished; destroying 1/3 of the city

• Replaced with the gov’t center development as well as businesses and luxury residences; former residents could no longer afford to live there

Eminent Domain

The power of the government to seize private property it thinks would enrich the state; typically for infrastructure projects

Ex: Southwest Expressway; Boston Redevelopment Authority

• proposed 6 lane highway that would provide a direct route through the city

• Land was seized in Jamaica Plain and Roxbury (redlined areas) and housing was demolished, although community activism prevented the highway from getting built

Historic Preservation

Protecting and preserving sites or buildings that are culturally significant

Ex. Franklin Park; Venturi and Rauch

• In this case, archaeological objects are preserved below a diagrammatic outline of Ben Franklin’s house

• Abstracted retelling of history rather than directly referencing it

Red-lining

Practice of designating certain areas in cities poor for investment, which discouraged companies from investing in those areas; predominately labeled minority and low income communities as blighted.

Ex. Construction of the Central Artery in the 1950s

• Demolished predominately red lined areas such as much of Chinatown

• Displaced residents

Anti-highway movement

Community movement against that advocated against building highways through neighborhoods and advocated for these projects to stop.

Ex. Anti-highway sign along Southwest Corridor embankment

• Showcased grassroots movement pushing back against highway development.

• Part of a larger campaign to raise awareness about the negative impacts of highways on urban communities, including increased traffic congestion, air pollution, and displacement of residents and businesses

Metabolism

Architectural style that originated in post-war Japan; focused on modular and flexible structures that can adapt and change over time like natural systems

Ex. Nakagin Capsule Tower; Kurokawa

• Metabolist living typology - steel and concrete structural tower with capsules “plugged in” to the tower that could be disconnected and moved to other locations

• Champions the ideal of life (metamorphosis) as opposed to the ideal of the machine

Colonialism

A country entering and conquering an inhabited area to exploit its resources, with the ideology that they know what’s best for the people living there

Tropical Architecture

Building for tropical climate conditions such as solar heat, humidity, rainfall and wind movement

Ex. Library at the University College; Fry and Drew

• International Style adapted to Tropics.

• Open screen applied to exterior to increase ventilation and interior shading

• Brise solei facade

• Argues for use of concrete as way to combat termites

“Both-And”

Phrase coined by Robert Venturi to describe the complexity and contradiction of architecture as opposed to the “either or” of modern architecture

Ex. Vanna Venturi House; Robert Venturi

• Early postmodern building that subverts ideas of what a house should look like - complexity and contradiction

• Front facade uses traditional gable and chimney form, but houses rooms and other functions into these spaces rather than just a roof and chimney. Uses both arch and lintel over opening, subverting idea of structure

Ambiguity

Architecture can be understood in multiple ways without an ordered sense of hierarchy

Ex. Vanna Venturi House; Robert Venturi

• Elements that contradict and are multiple things at once

  • Front facade uses traditional gable and chimney form, but houses rooms and other functions into these spaces rather than just a roof and chimney. Uses both arch and lintel over opening, subverting idea of structure.

  • Symmetrical form broken by asymmetrical windows, yet all constructed from same prefabricated window unit.

  • Plans crash hearth and stair together, two common and traditional elements to houses

“Less is a bore”

Coined by Robert Venturi in response Mies’s phrase “Less is More”. Venturi argues that modern architecture focuses on certain problems while choosing to ignore others. Venturi believes architecture should be concerned with the nuances and complexities involved with design.

Ex. Neue Staatsgalerie; Stirling and Wilford

• Combines features of modernism and classicism

  • Uses traditional rusticated stone blocks mixed with painted metallic railings

  • Pink limestone gives it a warm and inviting appearance; interior brightly colored in blue, red and green

• Its added complexity makes it a more welcoming space for visitors, which minimalist modern buildings don’t always achieve

Postmodernism

A style of architecture that subverts typical modernism, combining classical elements with modern design.

Ex. At&T building; Johnson

• Modern skyscraper but the frame is clad in traditional stone cladding

• References classical motifs: tripartite division, broken pediment, high arches in portico