skyscrapers

What period in American history represented a boom period in the development of skyscrapers?

The 1920s and early 1930s

Why were the zoning laws concerning skyscrapers in NYC created, and what was the criticism by Lewis Mumford?

Created by the 1916 Zoning Resolution to allow light and air into streets; Mumford criticized the “wedding-cake” shapes as aesthetic compromises that failed to fix deeper urban issues.

What was happening to the population of cities during the skyscraper boom?

Massive population growth through urbanization — people moving from rural areas into cities for work.

The Empire State Building was said to encompass an entire __________ __________ of functions.

vertical city 

What Art Deco skyscraper surpassed the Woolworth Building to become the world’s tallest in 1929?

he Chrysler Building by William Van Alen.

What is David Adjaye’s approach toward history in his William St. skyscraper?

He reinterprets historic materials and textures through modern design, using dark stone and minimalism to connect to New York’s past

What project did Adjaye design for Newark, and why did he take it?

The Fairmount Heights Art Wall (2018); he took it to celebrate Black culture and honor community history.

What inspired Walter Hood’s Black Towers Black Power?

The Black Power movement and the idea of Black visibility, pride, and cultural strength in architecture

How did “indigenous elites” break with 19th-century colonial traditions?

They rejected European colonial styles and adopted modern architecture as a symbol of independence and progress.

Why did Walter Gropius leave Germany in 1934?

to escape Nazi repression and continue promoting modernist ideals abroad

How did Gropius relate his architecture to America?

He blended European modernism with American industrial methods, emphasizing teamwork and practicality

At Harvard, architectural education changed from __________ to __________.

Beaux-Arts → ModernistHow does the Farnsworth House relate to Classical architecture?

How does the Farnsworth House relate to Classical architecture?

It uses Classical ideas of symmetry, proportion, and raised temple-like form.

The Glass House by Philip Johnson was reminiscent of what image in early 19th-century American culture?

The “crystal cottage” or glass conservatory — a symbol of transparency and idealized domestic life.

Who designed the de Menil Collection Museum?

Renzo Piano

Who designed the Pompidou Center?

Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers.

What three commitments did Piano and Rogers share?

A. Transparency and open space
B. Visible structure and technology
C. Integration of form and function

Curtis describes the bridges, stations, and airports of which architect as “elegant and lightweight”?

Norman Foster

Which architect influenced these high-tech designers?

Buckminster Fuller

‘High-tech’ architecture reflected the ambiguity between expression of __________ and __________.

Technology and art (architecture as art).

Name three aspects that define the ambiguity of Frank Gehry’s architecture.

1. Use of industrial materials (steel, titanium)

2. Sculptural, fragmented forms

3. Blurring between structure and expressive art