Introduction to Modern Architecture and Ground Abstraction

THE CULT OF PERSONALITY AND SELF-PROMOTION IN ARCHITECTURE

• Le Corbusier (Corb) as a Self-Promoter: Le Corbusier is described as someone who codified and wrote extensively, but was essentially a self-promoter. His influence stems from his confidence, which people often misinterpret as competence.

• Success and Perceived Competence: Many successful individuals appear confident, leading others to assume they are competent. While Le Corbusier was indeed competent, his visibility was driven by being a "self-proponent."

• Intellectual Connections: Le Corbusier was deeply embedded in the intellectual mix of the early $20^{th}$ century. He was connected to the invention of Cubism ($1900s$ to $1910s$), which emerged after Einstein published the theory of relativity (the idea that time is relative). Cubism is considered the artistic expression of these scientific/intellectual ideas.

• Painting as a Formal Tool: Le Corbusier explored architectural ideas through painting first. He explicitly stated that painting was the medium through which he discovered the forms for his architecture. These architectural elements are often referred to as "formal devices."

"TOWARDS A NEW ARCHITECTURE" ($1923$)

• Foundational Reading: Every architect practicing today who graduated before $2010$ has read this book. It is required reading for first-year students and must be part of any architectural collection.

• The Translation Issue: The speaker notes they do not speak or read French, but they find the English translation of Le Corbusier's book to be poorly written and occasionally confusing. Despite this, it remains an essential "core" text.

• Architecture or Revolution: The book ends with a chapter titled "Architectural Revolution" or "Architecture or Revolution."

  • The Choice: The implication is that society must choose one. Choosing "architecture" might prevent "revolution."

  • Social Act: Architecture can appease the tensions of the working class. By providing adequate housing (such as the Domino Plan), architects can prevent people from revolting and rioting in the streets against the established order.

THE FIVE POINTS OF ARCHITECTURE AND REINFORCED CONCRETE

• The Enabler: Reinforced concrete is the technological invention that allows the five points of architecture to exist.

• The Five Points Enumerated:

  1. Pilotis: Lifting the building off the ground.

  2. Free Plan: The floor plan is not dictated by load-bearing walls.

  3. Free Facade: The exterior walls are independent of the structure.

  4. Ribbon Window: Horizontal windows made possible because the walls are not structural.

  5. Roof Garden: Allowing the garden to continue through or on top of the building.

• Structural Independence: Because of reinforced concrete, structure and enclosure are decoupled. A wall on the second floor does not have to be in the same place as a wall on the first floor.

• Rejection of Tradition: Traditionally, windows were vertically proportioned because of the structural need for a lintel (a beam) to transfer loads to the sides. Modernism rejected this with the horizontal ribbon window.

CAMPUS ARCHITECTURE VS. FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

• Facilities Managers: Universities often lack a "campus architect" and instead rely on facilities managers. Managers view the campus through the lens of maintenance and cost rather than value or vision.

• Density vs. Urbanity: These concepts are often confused.

  • Density: Simply packing more into a space.

  • Urbanity: Designing spaces so people can navigate comfortably and feel at ease in their environment. Architects understand urbanity; facilities managers often do not.

• Dismantling Architecture: The speaker cites an example of a "five points" style wall building across the corner that was demolished because it was deemed to cost too much money to maintain, which the speaker describes as "stupid" given the university's large amount of surface parking.

KEY DEFINITIONS: GROUND, LAND, AND DATUM

• Ground: The physical surface we walk on; a simple, literal concept understood even by children.

• Land: A political, legal, and economic construct. It involves property rights, property lines, and government control. It is a "feudal legacy" and an abstraction that exists only because society says it exists.

• Datum: A level surface, line, or point used as a reference to arrange elements in a composition.

  • Ordering System: A datum is a tool for imposing order, similar to a grid or a proportioning system ($Golden Mean$, $Fibonacci$, or $\sqrt{2}$).

  • Abstraction of Ground: In Modernism, the datum acts as an abstraction of the ground, disconnecting the building from the literal earth.

• Feudalism: Modernism sought to reject feudalism, defined as a society structured around relationships derived from holding land in exchange for labor. Modernism aimed for a more equal, democratic relationship between the people and the building.

ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY AND FORMAL ANALYSIS

• The Mathematics of the Ideal Villa: A foundational essay that compares a Palladian villa ($Villa Rotunda$) to Le Corbusier's $Villa Stein$.

• Palladio (Villa Rotunda):

  • Sits on a hill like a pyramid.

  • Load-bearing technology means the structure stays continuous into the ground.

  • Bilateral symmetry on four sides.

  • Entrance is unambiguous; it is an imposing object on the landscape.

• Le Corbusier (Villa Savoye, $1931$):

  • The purest icon of the "white villa" period.

  • Lifted off the ground on pilotis; the ground floor contains a garage where the car (a new mass-produced technology) drops occupants off.

  • Ribbon windows frame a new horizon, detaching the viewer from the literal ground plane.

  • The front door is ambiguous compared to traditional architecture.

• The Bias of Photography: Early modern architecture is often thought of as purely white because of black-and-white photography. In reality, many buildings had significant color. Richard Meyer based his practice in the $1950s$ and $60s$ on the misconception that these villas were white.

CUBISM AND THE ARCHITECTURAL RAMP

• Cubism as Time: Cubism (Picasso and Braque) is not just about shapes; it is about time. It shows objects from multiple points of view at once because the brain understands the object's whole form even if the eye only sees one side from one perspective.

• Linear Perspective: Invented by Brunelleschi (who also figured out the dome), linear perspective is a view from one point in space at one point in time.

• The Ramp as Cubist Experience: The ramp in Le Corbusier's buildings is an extension of the ground. Unlike a stair, which is a quick vertical move, a ramp allows a "spool around the building." As the viewer moves at an oblique angle, they experience the spaces in motion, mirroring the intellectual process of a Cubist painting (like those by Juan Guin).

COMPETITION AND THE "GLASS HOUSE" WAR

• Philip Johnson: Described as opportunistic and wealthy (having a butler in college). He became powerful through connections at MoMA (Museum of Modern Art).

• Johnson vs. Mies: Philip Johnson visited Mies van der Rohe's office and saw drawings for the Farnsworth House (a glass house for a doctor). Wanting to be "first in history," Johnson built his own Glass House two years before Mies completed his.

• Farnsworth House:

  • Lifted off the ground due to flooding concerns (though it still floods).

  • Uses temple-like proportions (equivalent to the Parthenon).

  • Features chrome columns that act as mirrors to make the structure "disappear."

• Frank Lloyd Wright: The first American architect to truly influence Europeans; he was famously "the odd one" compared to the European modernists.

• Frank Gehry: An "amazing" architect whose practice evolved through many phases (including a Frank Lloyd Wright phase and a postmodern phase). He was highly sophisticated in his use of cheap materials in the $80s$ and $90s$ and urbanistically well-positioned.

QUESTIONS & DISCUSSION

• Query on the word "Or": A student asks if "Architecture or Revolution" implies a "this or that" choice.

• Response: The speaker confirms this interpretation. Le Corbusier argued that if you choose architecture (specifically socialist-oriented housing like the Domino Plan), you can avoid the violent revolution of the working class.

• Recall Check: The speaker asks students what they remember about the Glass House and Farnsworth House.

• Student Response: Mentions the flooding of the Farnsworth House.

• Conclusion: Architecture is both a formal/artistic endeavor and a social practice addressing political problems.