THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE (PRELIMS)

Architectural Theory

• Act of thinking, discussing, and writing about architecture

• Nurtured by philosophical idea

• Intellectual foundation of design focusing on the principles, methods,

Theories of Architecture

have influenced the Practice of Architecture and vice versa.

Advanced Architectural Theory deals with:

• Dialogues and manifestos

• Analysis of shifts in architectural emphasis

• Fostering awareness of new architectural design

• Encouraging students to think about their own theoretical manifesto

Design Philosophy

The main driving force behind the work of a designer or design team

The design philosophy

should be part of the design process because it directly impacts the creative process

Balkrishna V. Doshi.

Architecture is ethical and personal Architecture is a service to humanity

Riken Yamamoto

[There is] kinship between public and private realms. Architecture [is the] background and foreground of everyday life.

Design Approach

Essential in holistically shaping the design project from start to finish.

Design Approaches ( PEIS)

• Practical Approach

• Experiential Approach

• Integrated Design Approach

• Sustainable Approach

Practical Approach

• Traditionalist strategy

• most used approach

• Problemsolving

• Cost-efficient

Experiential Approach

• Extremely immersive approach

• takes into account the end user’s experience

• first and foremost about aesthetics.

Integrated Design Approach

• Experts can be multidisciplinary

• Helps ensure a holistic outcome rather than a culmination of interdependent elements

Sustainable Approach

• Involves designing buildings to minimize any negative environmental impact

• oftentimes validated by a LEED

LEED meaning

Leaderships in Energy and Environmental Design

Design Strategy

• overarching plan

• Guides the development of a project from concept to execution

• A range of considerations

Some Design Strategy Considerations (Pgo , Esa , Un , S, Av , Mt, Rc , Bs)

• Project Goals and Objectives

• Environment and Site Analysis

• User Needs

• Sustainability

• Aesthetic Vision

• Material and Technology

• Regulatory Compliance

• Budget and Schedule

PARADIGM

• paradèigma, 'example, exemplar'

• A typical example or pattern of something;

A Pattern Language (Christopher Alexander)

• framework for designing buildings, cities, and communities

• based on recurring design solutions or patterns

STAGES OF THE ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN PROCESS ( P , Sd, Dd, Cd, B/n, Ca, Po)

• Pre-Design

• Schematic Design

• Design Development

• Contract Documents

• Bidding/Negotiation

• Contract Administration (construction)

• Post-Occupancy

False

The first design is perfect (T or F)

CREATIVE DESIGN PROCESS

• The fallacy of a perfect first design

• Design continually changes

• Improvement is key: Need for information that would enhance the design

• Critical thinking and adaptability is required

ITERATIVE DESIGN PROCESS

• Can be used at any phase of the design process

• First model = theoretical use

• Testing Phase = actual use

• Refinement of design

• Continuous collection of data

Modernism

• Aesthetic practice of modernity

• Rooted to Period of Enlightenment

• Architectural period that is difficult to define

Modernist Architecture

Rejecting ornament and embracing minimalism (functionalism)

Factors affecting early modern architecture

• 19th century brought on many changes

• Architects were asked to design new buildings for new uses

• Scale was much larger

• From monarchy to democracy

Cultural Transformation

• New societal needs = new building types

Kinds of Building (Modernism)

• Government buildings

• Factories, warehouses

• Commercial Buildings

• Trains, news press, post offices

Enlightenment Rationalism

• Basis of architecture should be science

• Rationalist architects followed the philosophy of Rene Descartes (emphasized geometric forms and ideal proportions)

Streatham Street Flats (Henry Roberts)

• stacking apartments in pairs with a common staircase

• Example of working class architecture

Georges-Eugène Haussmann

was tasked to:

• to give it air and open space

• to connect and unify the different parts of the city into one whole

• to make it more beautiful

Garden City

• Designed by EBENEZER HOWARD

• An idealized city laid out in a concentric pattern with open space, public parks, and six radial boulevards.

Glass Innovations

Larger, uniform glass panes, influencing the development of modern facades.

Safety Glass:

Laminated glass, patented in 1903, increased safety in windows and doors.

Aluminum

Lightweight, corrosion-resistant, and ideal for decorative elements and later, curtain walls.

Asphalt and Bitumen

Used for paving roads and as a roofing material, it became widely available due to advances in petroleum refining

Skyscraper Construction

Steel framing + reinforced concrete

William Le Baron Jenney (1884)

built the Home Insurance Building

Curtain Wall Systems

Non-load-bearing facades

Suspension Bridges

Advances in steel cable-making allowed for longer-span suspension bridges

Elevators

perfected in the late 19th century, made tall buildings more practical and accessible.

Elisha Otis

invented elevators

From Load-Bearing Masonry to Steel Frames

Shifted from heavy masonry walls to lighter steel-framed structures, reducing building weight and allowing for greater flexibility in design.

Prefabrication and Modular Systems

Precast concrete and standardized steel components allowed for faster and more consistent construction.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1924)

“Architecture is the will of the people translated into space.”

Walter Gropius (1935)

“... from the vagaries of mere architectural caprice to the dictates of structural logic, we have learned to seek concrete expression of the life of our epoch in clear and crisply simplified forms”

-Heinrich Wolfllin (1885)

. architecture expresses the attitude to life of an epoch”

Characteristics of early 20th century architecture:

• The machine as an inspiration for the formation of architecture

• Primacy of Function and Utility

• Architecture to support (or garner) political and industrial power

• Aspirations of industrialism

Key Personalities 20th century Architecture (PWLL)

• Peter Behrens

• Walter Gropius

• Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

• Charles Edouard Jenneret (Le Corbusier)

Peter Behrens

• Central figure for Jugenstil (youthful style) in Munich, Germany

• Abstract geometrical forms

• (1907) Designer for the German General Electric Company

• AEG Turbine Factory

Deutsche Werkbund

One of the founders of__, an organization of architects, artists, designers, craftsmen

worked in Behrens’ office

• Walter Gropius

• Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

• Charles Edouard Jeanneret (Le Corbusier)

Walter Gropius

(1909) Set up own practice with Adolf Meyer

Fagus Shoe Factory ( Walter Gropius)

Inspired by Behrens’ AEG Turbine Factory ○ Flat roof ○ Curtain wall ○ Mechanized architecture

Bauhaus

had schools in Weimar, Dessau, and Bernau

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

• The concept of the artist as “agent of the taste of the age”

• “architecture being an expression of technical power”

• Examples of works: Lakeshore Apartments, BARCELONA PAVILLION, White House Estate

• LESS IS MORE

Charles Edouard Jenneret (Le Corbusier)

• Worked for Auguste Perret in Paris (1908)

• Worked for Behrens in Berlin (1910)

• captivated by the sharpness of forms under the crisp Mediterranean sunlight

L’Esprit Nouveau (New Spirit)

a journal containing theories of socially responsive architecture

Le Corbusier’s 5 Points of Architecture:

• Pilotis

• Open Plan

• Free design of facade

• Horizontal ribbon windows

• roof garden

Pilotis

a grid of slim reinforced concrete pylons that assume the structural weight of a building. This frees the ground floor circulation.

Open plan

The absence of load-bearing partition walls affords greater flexibility in design and use of living spaces; the house is unrestrained in its internal use.

Free design of the façade

separated exterior of the building is free from conventional structural restriction,

Horizontal ribbon windows

these light rooms equally, increasing sense of space and seclusion

Known Figures (Modernism) (LAFACA)

• Louis Sullivan

• Aalvar Aalto

• Frank Lloyd Wright

• Adolf Loos

• Cass Gilbert

• Auguste Perret

LOUIS SULLIVAN

• “Form follows function.”

• Called the “Father of Modernism”

• Mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright,

Dankmar Adler

Louise Sullivan partnered with __The Auditorium, Chicago Wainwright Building, Chicago Chicago Stock Exchange Building Guaranty Building, Buffalo, New York - established the firm Adler and Sullivan

Works of Louis Sullivan

• The Auditorium

• Chicago Wainwright Building,

• Chicago Chicago Stock Exchange Building

• Guaranty Building, Buffalo, New York

FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT

• “We have primarily the new ideal of a building as organic. A building should be as dignified as a tree in the midst of nature.”

• Organic Architecture

Works Frank Lloyd Wright

• Falling Water

• Guggenheim Museum, New York

• Johnson Wax Headquarters Building

Guggenheim Museum, NYC

an organically designed piece of architecture in an urban setting. the museum buidling’s design was controversial when it was completed but praised later on. A 6 store helical ramp extends along the perimeter of the structure The concept was that of an inverted ziggurat. The helical ramp was said to be inspired by Giuseppe Momo’s helical staircase in the Vatican Museums

Johnson Wax Headquarters Building

uses Pyrex glass tubing that radiates natural light inside

ADOLF LOOS

• “Ornament is a crime.”

• Influential European theorist and a polemicist of modern architecture.

Raumplan

Adolf Loos developed ____ (lit. spatial plan) method of arranging interior spaces

Villa Müller

embodies Loos' ideas of economy and functionality. The Raumplan is evident in the multi-level parts of individual rooms, indicating their function and symbolic importance. Raumplan is exhibited in the interior as well as the exterior.

CASS GILBERT

• One of the first “celebrity” American architects

• Pioneered cladding a steel frame that became a model for skyscrapers

Woolworth Building (1912)

Cass Gilbert most famous for ____ Gothic skyscraper; It was the tallest building in the world from 1939 to 1929

Works Cass Gilbert

• U.S. Supreme Court Building

• Minnesota State Capitol Building

• Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House

Auguste PerretOne of Perret’s early concrete experiments, the Rue Franklin Apartment Building in Paris (1903), where the concrete structure, instead of being concealed, was clearly visible and was a part of the exterior design

• Was a student at École des Beaux-Arts

• Although his early work was Nationalist Romantic Style and Art Nouveau, his main interest was the structure of buildings and the use of new materials, such as concrete

Rue Franklin Apartment Building in Paris (1903)

One of Perret’s early concrete experiments, the ____ , where the concrete structure, instead of being concealed, was clearly visible and was a part of the exterior design

Church of Notre Dame du Raincy

It may have inspired the work of American Architect Antonin Raymond, namely the (middle) Tokyo Women's Christian University Chapel (1938) and (right) the tower of the Chapel of the Angry Christ in Victorias, Negros Occidental

Conseil Economique Social et Environnemental (Economic, Social and Environmental Council Building). T

• The main stairs of the Palais d'Iéna one of the buildings at the Council, with the hypostyle hall on the left side.

• The building is a classical monument in reinforced concrete with a modern design able to rival the ancient achievement of the Parthenon, the height of "aesthetic perfection"

Alvar Aalto

• Finnish architect and designer

• Believed painting and sculpture as "branches of the tree whose trunk is architecture.”

• He pioneered bent plywood furniture

• was fond of curves

Gesamtkunstwerk

His career is characterized by a concern for design as ___—a total work of art (exterior and interior have to be unified)

Works of Alvar Aalto

• Villa Mairea by Alvar and Aina Aalto

• Paimio Sanatorium

• Lakauden Risti, Finland

• Church of Santa Maria Assunta, Italy

FUTURIST ARCHITECTURE

“The fundamental characteristics of futurist architecture will be obsolescence and transience. [Our] houses will not last as long as we shall. Each generation will have to build its own city.”

• characterized by long dynamic lines, suggesting speed, motion, urgency and lyricism

by poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti

Based on Futurism: an artistic movement founded by

Giacomo Matte-Trucco

- designed the Lingotto Factory (1923); was one of the main production plants of the FIAT car; today it is a multipurpose center

Antonio Sant’Elia

• Italian architect

• He left behind almost no completed works of architecture and is primarily remembered for his bold sketches and influence on modern architecture

Angiolo Mazzoni

the Squadra rialzo building (1935) which he designed has been called “the greatest masterpiece of Futurist-Constructivist Modern architecture”

B. Congres Internationaux d’Architecture Moderne (CIAM)

• Founded in Switzerland in 1928

• An association of architects who wanted to advance modernism into an international setting.. It promoted the idea (based upon new urban patterns in the US)

CIAM's four functional categories: (DWTR)

• Dwelling

• Work

• Transportation

• Recreation

Dwelling

• Should occupy the best places in the city in terms of typography, climate, sunlight, and availability of green space.

• Healthy environment should be a priority

• Reasonable densities should be imposed both to the type of housing and to the conditions of the site.

• minimum number of hours of sunlight should be required

Recreation

• All residential areas should be provided with sufficient open space for residents of all ages

• Unsanitary slums should be demolished and replaced by open space.

• New open spaces should be used for: children’s playgrounds, schools, youth clubs and other community buildings closely related to housing.

• Week-ends spent in accessible and favorable places.

Work

• Distances between work and dwelling should be minimized.

• Industrial sectors should be separated from residential sectors

• should be contiguous with railroads, canals and highways.

Transportation

• Traffic analyzed to reveal the location of heavily travelled routes and the types of their traffic.

• Transportation routes should be classified

• Heavily used traffic junctions should be designed for continuous passage of vehicles, using different levels.

METABOLISM

• “We regard human society as a vital process—a continuous development from atom to nebula.”

• shinchintaisha

• started in japan

Buildings are like living organisms

> they should be able to morph over time

Kenzo Tange

• “... architects have a special duty and mission… [to contribute] to the socio-cultural development of architecture and urban planning.”

• Combined traditional Japanese styles with modernism

• Won the competition for the design of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

Kisho Kurokawa

• Most famous for Nakagin Capsule Tower in Ginza (demolished)

• Founded the Anaheim University Kisho Kurokawa Green Institute, which helps to develop environmentally-conscious business practices

• Studied under Tange at UTokyo

Kiyonori Kikutake

• “Contrary to the architecture of the past, contemporary architecture must be capable of responding to the changing needs of the contemporary era.”

• Japan Academy of Architecture Prize (1970)

• UIA (Union Internationale des Architectes) Auguste Perret Prize (1978).

• Best known for “Marine City” project which consists of a Floating Structure and the Linear Ocean City

Brutalism

an expressionist style of the International Style advocated by Le Corbusier and his fellow architects Mies van dar Rohe and Frank Lloyd Wright, that opted for functionalism while producing sculptural shapes of raw unfinished concrete.