Modern Architecture

Architecture is different from other types of art because it has a functional purpose.

  • Design - something that has a practical purpose but we are going to add some elements to it so that it is not PURELY functional

    • Clothes - have a practical purpose but also have an aesthetic design component

    • Cars

    • Buildings

    • Phones and technology

  • Most things we expect an element of design

  • Utilitarian - ONLY purpose, no element of design. What the jawn could be a utilitarian thing??? Nothing blud

Le Corbusier

Villa Savoye - Le Corbusier

  • Believed that architecture should be imposed on its surroundings, so he would put the stuff in places where it might not exactly be meant to complement its surroundings

    • This house looks kinda jitty because it looks weird in its setting

  • In contrast, Wright works in harmony with his surroundings

Frank Lloyd Wright

  • Surrounding the house around the hearth (the fireplace)

    • The fireplace was the heart of the house - it’s where people gathered to eat, to gather, to cook

    • They believed that the hearth was the place where the family should gather and the purpose of a home is to keep people together

    • So Lloyd would design his house with this in mind

Guggenheim Museum - Wright

  • Wants to make sure that people have good access to the art, so he makes a space of wide-open concentric circles so that people can walk around and experience the art

  • The form of the building follows the function

Walter GROPIUS

Bauhaus School of Design - Gropius

  • Design school - taught stuff like home design, architecture design, etc.

  • Nazis closed it for a while

  • Has a pretty profound influence on the less is more aesthetic

  • Apple products are pretty Bauhaus-inspired because they think that it should be as simple in its design as possible

Philip Johnson

Seagram Building

  • Big deal because it is a clean, elegant time that is rectangular and monolithic and it gets the job done

Stuff gets boring after a while, so then we move to Postmodernism

Postmodern Architecture

I. M. Pei

Louvre Entrance (in Paris)

  • The Louvre is a 17th century Baroque castle that used to be the seat of the French monarchy, but they turned it into the museum

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum

  • Having a little fun and being whimsical and trying stuff out

  • Cleveland, Ohio

Dallas City Hall, Fountain Place, & Meyerson Symphony Center

  • He designed these jawns!

  • He designed the Fountain Place to be like in a conversation with the Federal Reserve Bank

Norman Foster

Winspear Opera House

  • Cool gardens and design

Other Stuff in Dallas

  • Perot Tower, Chase Tower, Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge (Santiago Calatrava)

  • Kimball Art Museum, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth