Discussion of Wright and Usonia

  • Design Focus
    • Usonia as a study of modern design.
    • Presentation of Russell Wright's work as a key example of modernism in Usonia.

Russell Wright

  • Background

    • Industrial designer notable in the design history field.
    • No familial ties to Frank Lloyd Wright; only correspondence between them.

  • Dragon Rock

    • Location: Garrison, New York.
    • Architect: David Levitt.
    • Built on an abandoned quarry site, transformed by Wright into a home that incorporates a pond into the landscape.
    • Design aesthetics: Utilizes glass and steel instead of organic materials typical of Frank Lloyd Wright's work.
    • Completion year: 1961.

Storm King Art Center

  • Overview

    • Originally intended as a museum to the Hudson River School.
    • Evolved into an outdoor sculpture museum around 1960 located in Mountainville, New York.

  • Significance in Art and Landscape

    • Represents a modern landscape composition.
    • Key themes include pastoral and picturesque aesthetics evident in the large open areas and closely cut lawns.
    • Houses monumental modernist sculptures, often site-specific, demonstrating connections to historical landscape trends.
    • Example of an abstract modern art continuation of themes from the Armory Show in the mid-twentieth century.

  • Comparison of Pastoral and Picturesque Landscapes

    • Pastoral landscapes characterized by broad, gentle shapes.
    • Picturesque landscapes, in contrast, feature surprise and unpredictability through smaller-scale sculptures integrated into wooded pathways.

  • Key Work: Storm King Wall by Andy Goldsworthy

    • Creation encapsulates traditional landscapes and walls found throughout Hudson Valley, utilizing local stones but designed with curvilinear forms, not for agricultural use but as an artwork.
    • Enhances camouflage within the natural landscape.

Colonial Revival and Historicism

  • Introduction to Colonial Revival

    • Counter-movement to modernism, particularly relevant in the Hudson Valley.
    • Examined through lenses of nostalgia for colonial life encapsulated in colonial architecture.

  • Washington Irving and his Influence on Architecture

    • Renovated his home, Sunnyside, reflecting colonial aesthetics influenced by Dutch colonial architecture.
    • Key renovations occurred from 1835 to 1847, utilizing picturesque designs.

  • Significant Events

    • 1876 Centennial Grounds: Celebration of the 100-Year Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
    • Showcased American aspirations during the Gilded Age and early industrial boom.
    • Revived interest in pre-industrial colonial life.

Nostalgia and Heritage Preservation

  • Cultural Nostalgia

    • Discussion of a shared nostalgia for simpler times reflected in American history, specifically during periods of heavy immigration.
    • Colonial revival efforts were responses to immigration pressures, aiming to celebrate and preserve heritage.

  • Role of Historical Organizations

    • Key organizations emerged to promote and preserve colonial heritage, notably including Huguenot Street historical organizations established around 1899.

Architectural Examples of Colonial Revival

  • Example: Dutch Revival House in Albany

    • Notable architectural features: step gables reflective of Dutch colonial architecture, built around 1890, lack of original structures remains, indicative of revivals rather than originals.

  • Significant Figures in Colonial Revival

    • Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) and his renovation of Springwood reflecting Dutch colonial traditions.
    • FDR’s involvement in architecture ties to his Dutch heritage dating back to 1650 and connection with organizations that required ancestral proof for membership.

Architectural Styles Influenced by Historicism

  • Roosevelt's Springwood Renovation

    • Original structure (Briarstone) built in 1826, remodeled in Italianate style around 1867, with later Georgian revival influences.
    • Architectural characteristics: symmetry, decorative features such as brackets under eaves, and a picturesque layout enhancing political image.

  • Emergence of Tudor Revival

    • Sul Monte, designed for opera singer Amolita Galikerci in the early 1920s, blends various historic styles, resonating with Tudor revival elements, traditional craftsmanship, and natural material use in design.

Gothic Revival**

  • Third Wave of Gothic Revival

    • Reflected in collegiate architecture post-1900, projection of an image of age at institutions to parallel Oxford and Cambridge's ancient aura.

  • Key Figure: Ralph Adams Cram

    • Important in Gothic Revival for educational buildings, with emphasis on medieval design serving academic institutions.
    • Notable example: Princeton Graduate College demonstrating enclosed quadrangles and traditional Gothic styles in architectural elements.

  • West Point Military Academy

    • Design by Cram focused on grand, rustic stone structures enhancing military aesthetics and historical significance tied to the American Revolutionary War.