CONTEMPORARY

ARCHITECTURE THEORIES
Submitted by Hazary Nic. Year 5.

Department of Architecture. University of Nairobi

Contemporary Architecture
Theories

This report seeks to explore the philosophical and

conceptual evolution of its ideas, discusses the
relation of theory to the practice of building in the
modern century. It also documents and examines
on the notable architects and buildings that are
considered to belong to the contemporary era in
the nineteenth century.
Report presented by:
Hazary Nic
Reg. No: B02/0799/2011
Email: hazarynic@gmail.com
Year of Study: year V

Table of content

key concepts 01
Part I: Contextualism
02
Part ii: Critical Regionalism 06
Part iii: Neo-Vernacular
21
Part iv: Post-Modern Arch
30
Part v: De-constructivism
34
References 40

part i

Key Concepts
Phenomenology:

The theory of phenomenology acknowledges this responsibility by implementing sensory

design in order to establish experiential, architectural space. Phenomenology demonstrated in architecture is the manipulation of space, material, and light and shadow to create a
memorable encounter through an impact on the human senses.
This theory promotes the integration of sensory perception as a function of a built form. This
creates an experience that is beyond tangible, but rather abstract, observed and perceived.
Architecture influences the community through incorporating human activity with adapted
site context, organized programmatic and interstitial space, and exploration of material.
Phenomenological concept strategies in architectural design intend to develop a unique
experience of the phenomena of space, light and form.

Genius Loci:

The Norwegian architect and phenomenologist Christian Norberg-Schulz is a key theorist in

elucidating the concept of genius loci
Effectively, genius loci refers to the The total sum of the characteristics of the site including
the views, topography, phenomena and color.
In contemporary usage, genius loci usually refers to a locations distinctive atmosphere, or
a spirit of place.

Metaphor:

Contemporary prominent architects especially Libeskind, Calatrava, Correa and Holl abstain from direct analogy and use narratives, memories, historical events, characteristics
related to project subjects or sites or natural structures as metaphors
Metamorphic borrowing is a method used by architects to
The word metaphor appears in Post Modern Architecture the form of protest to modernist architecture.
In post modern architecture, the position of metaphor as architectural grammatical structure
becomes the part of the grand semiotics, the system of sign in Architecture.

Figure: Le Corbusier interpretation of the

Concepts

metaphor in the designing of Ron Champ Chapel

Semiology vs Semantics

Semiotic tools help to articulate the form of the expression of the architectural work with the
form of the content to make a corresponding reading of the signifying object possible. The
form/substance of the content refers to the semantic and syntactic structures that form the
sign -object and the meaning communicated by it
Page no: 5

part 1

Contextualism
Related titles:
Contextual Design
Contextualism Consideration
Contextual Concept and Ethics

Definition:
Burden (2001), refers to the contextualism in architecture as:
... An approach to urban planning that considers the city in its totality; the view that the experience of a city is greater than the sum of its parts. All architecture must fit into, respond to, and
mediate its surroundings (Burden, 2001, p.87).
Contextualism can be therefore be defined as the fitting of a building in its specific physical site
and surrounding. Contextualism can be seen as a concept that aims to create the relationship
and dialogue of unity between a building, its site, its natural environment or its neighborhood.
Buildings that express this theory of architecture include:

Part i: Contextualism

Falling Water, Pennsylvania (USA), Frank Lloyd Wright

Ron Champ, Ron champ (france), Le Corbusier

Page no: 6

Photo Notre Dame du Haut, or Ronchamp, Ronchamp, France

Le Corbusier

Brief Information:
Born as Charles Edouard Jeanneret on October
6, 1887 in La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland.
He studied at the La Chaux de Fonds Art School.
His career spanned five decades and he made
significant contributions to the Modernists or
International Style.

Part i: Contextualism

He has built works in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. He died on August 27, 1965
of a heart attack while swimming in the Mediterranean Sea in south France.
Famous Works:
1928 Villa Savoye, Poissy-sur-Seine, France
1947-1952 Unite dHabition, Marseille, France
1950-1954 Chapel Notre Dame du Haut, Ronchamp, France
1952-1959 Buildings in Chandigarh, India.

Page no: 7

Notre Dame du Haut Ronchamp

Brief Information:
Location:
Ronchamp, France
Date:
1955
Building Type:
Church
Construction System: Reinforced concrete
Climate:
Temperate
Context: Rural, mountains
Style:
Expressionist Modern
Notes:
Soft-form
composition,
deep windows with colored glass
Discussion
Notre-Dame-du-Haut became a statement for Le
Corbusiers late style.
Essentially the church is simplean oblong kind of
nave, two side entrances, an axial main altar, and
three chapels beneath towersas is its structure,
with rough masonry walls faced with whitewashed
Gunite (sprayed concrete) and a roof of contrasting
beton brut.
However,on a symbolic platform, this small building,
is immensely powerful and complex.
Figure: Notre Dame du Haut Site Plan

Part I: Contextualism

Figure: Ground Plan

Figure: view of chapel

Characteristics:
Approach route of the chapel is from the Southeast
Chapel is placed at the high point on an East West
axis.
Curved wall on the South wall directs visitors up
and to the entrance.
The Chapels act as periscopes which establish
contact with the distant horizon.
Entry zone has a primary reading because of its
thickness and by extending its length beyond the
southeast corner.
The North and West walls are built of stone. The
South wall has a reinforced concrete frame.
The Southeast parabolic reflector, with its outdoor
alter, is meant to embrace the pilgrims when they
come for a large open-air service.
The site is high on a hill near Belfort in eastern
France
There had been a pilgrimage chapel on the site
dedicated to the Virgin Mary, but it had been destroyed during the Second World War
Warning against decadence, reformers within the
Church looked to renew its spirit by embracing modern art and architecture as
representative concepts

Figure: Birds eye view of the church & context

The site provided the architect with a genius loci

for the response, with the horizon visible on all four
sides of the hill and its historical legacy for centuries
as a place of worship.
The Jura mountains in the distance and the hill itself, dominate the landscape.
The nature of the site would result in an architectural
ensemble that has many similarities with the Acropolis starting from the ascent at the bottom of the hill
to architectural and landscape events along the way,
before finally terminating at the sanctus sanctorum
itself the chapel.
You cannot see the building until you reach nearly
the crest of the hill. From the top, magnificent vistas
spread out in all.
Commentary

Part I: Contextualism

Le Corbusier seems to understand some key concepts in contextualism. The metaphoric borrowing
form various such a veil of a nun, and previous existing church takes a metaphor through a process design with context and express living / idea creating
meaningful architecture.
Le Corbusier made use of curved surfaces of reinforced concrete to generate a form that is bold and
organic.
Its necessary to note that the building has evoked
poetic notions in the mind of the visitor observing the
play of light and shadow on different surfaces.

These windows emit moving patterns of colored light in the interior of the church, creating a
deeply moving ambiance.

Figure: The play of light and shadow in th einterior

takes advantage of the sites orientation to create

Commentary

The site played a special part in this project. Looking at

the buildings orientation, designed to capture light at
different times of the day, the relation between the exterior and interior of the structure, the filters consisting of
windows, fissures and apertures, and the locaitons of
primary and secondary entrance.

Figure: elevation showing the several elements used in

designing the church.

But my thought is that its more than this. le corbusier

understood the sancity of the site and sought to define
and architecture in keeping with the spirit of place,
a concept which he himself described as mysterious,
irrational, bound up with its geographical location, history, memory and use.

Part i: Contextualism

Figure: elevation showing fenestrations that allow light into

the main sanctuary

Figure: Section showing how light is allowed into the church

Page no: 10

Part i: Contextualism

Figure: View of the exterior showing the light wells

Figure: View of the exterior. The windows are creatively

arranged to create a play of light in the interior.

Page no: 11

Photo: Falling water residence during winter, Ohiopyle-pennsylvania, USA

Frank Lloyd Wright

Brief Information:
Frank Lloyd Wright was born in Richland Center,
Wisconsin in 1867.

Part i: Contextualism

Wright evolved a new concept of interior space in

architecture. Rejecting the existing view of rooms
as single-function boxes, Wright created overlapping and inter-penetrating rooms with shared
spaces. He created the idea of defined space as
opposed to enclosed space.
During the last part of his life, Wright produced
a wide range of work. Particularly important was
Taliesin West, a winter retreat and studio he built
in Phoenix, Arizona. He died at Taliesin West in
1959.
Famous Works:
1934 Falling Water, Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania
1956 Guggenheim Museum, New York
1937 Taliesin West, Scottsdale, Arizona
1909 Robie Residence, Chicago, Illinois

Page no: 12

Fallingwater

Brief Information:
Location:
Mill Run, Pensylivania, USA
Date:
1939
Building Type:
Residential
Construction System: Reinforced concrete
Climate:
Temperate
Context: Waterfall
Style:
Contextual Design
Note:
Cantilevers dramatically

over rock outcropping and
rushing stream.
Discussion
The house was built as a weekend home for owners
Mr. Edgar Kaufmann, his wife, and their son, whom
he developed a friendship with through their son who
was studying at Wrights school, the Taliesin Fellowship.
Wrights admiration for Japanese architecture was
important in his inspiration for this house, along with
most of his work. Just like in Japanese architecture,
Wright wanted to create harmony between man and
nature, and his integration of the house with the waterfall was successful in doing so.
Falling water:

Figure: Falling water Site Plan

The main house of the clients which was built between 1936-1938, and the guest room which was
completed in 1939.
The original house contains simple rooms furnished
by Wright himself, with an open living room and compact kitchen on the first floor, and three small bedrooms located on the second floor.
The third floor was the location of the study and
bedroom of Edgar Jr., the Kaufmanns son.
The rooms all relate towards the houses natural
surroundings, and the living room even has steps
that lead directly into the water below.

Part i: Contextualism

Figure: Ground Plan

Figure: Second floor plan

Figure: Third floor plan

Page no: 13

Fallingwater

Part i: Contextualism

Figure: The transformation of the building with the different seasons

The choice of mixed, natural materials and the

addition of careful consideration of the surrounding
landscape, unequivocally demonstrates a serene,
unified space among nature, human interaction and
built structure.
Demonstrating strong values of space and emotion
through materiality and construction.
Wrights desire to create a unified and organic
composition limited the color palette at Fallingwater.
Only two colors were used throughout: a light
ochre for the concrete and his signature Cherokee
red for the steel. The colors were inspired by its surroundings.
Page no: 14

The perfection of these details perfected the house

itself, and even though the house tends to have structural problems that need constant maintenance due to
its location, there is no question that Fallingwater, now
a National Historic Landmark, is a work of genius.

-Open-plan interior spaces covered by continuous glass windows.

A large boulder was integrated right into the

hearth. With water running beneath the house,
Wright then added widely cantilevered concrete
slabs to create terraces across the exterior of the
home to echo the stepped horizontal slabs of rock
located around the waterfall.
I admit to be highly inspired by this house in my
study of architecture. Its timelessness design has
elevated Wright into a gifted architects category.
The mood captured by this design went beyond
what the client anticipated.
The building complements and completes the
site. It succeeds in integrating the spirituality of
water & romance.

Part i: Contextualism

Figures: The interiors of the house reflect the same colour

theme used throught the design.

Page no: 15

part ii

Critical
Regionalism
Related titles:
Regional Design
Regionalism
Definition:
Critical Regionalism is the name given to architecture that draws inspiration from not only its
surrounding environment, but also from the use of regional materials and the work of local, not
necessarily internationally known, architects who are tuned into the symbolism and values of
their own culture.
Kenneth Frampton, in his 1983 article Towards a Critical Regionalism: Six Points of an Architecture of Resistance, coined the term Critical Regionalism. Since then, regional architects
have gone on to respond successfully to issues such as the need for low-cost housing, greater
energy efficiency, and more aesthetically sensitive structures that reflect differing cultural and
aesthetic backgrounds.
In Egypt, Hassan Fathy sought to revitalize the use of mud-brick materials in private houses in
a local style.

Part ii: Critical Regionalism

According to Frampton, critical regionalism should adopt modern architecture critically for its
universal progressive qualities but at the same time should value responses particular to the
context. Emphasis should be on topography, climate, light, tectonic form rather than scenography and the tactile sense rather than the visual.
As put forth by Tzonis and Lefaivre, critical regionalism need not directly draw from the context,
rather elements can be stripped of their context and used in strange rather than familiar ways.
Critical regionalism is different from regionalism which tries to achieve a one-to-one correspondence with vernacular architecture in a conscious way without consciously partaking in the
universal.
Critical Regionalism is not just regionalism, but it also challenges the architect and visitor to see
how world culture and global concerns can be blended with regional issues to create a style that
is more critically self-conscious and expansive.
Characteristics of critical regionalism:
Combination of regional and modern (culture and civilization)
Integration of regional materials with modern
Emphasis on topography (consideration of geographical context; compatible with the environment/nature)
Tactility
Emphasis on place (not space)

Page no: 16

Photo Saynatsalo Town hall, finland

Alvar Aalto

Brief Information:
Alvar Aalto was born in Kuortane, Finland in 1898,
the son of a surveyor.

Part ii: Critical Regionalism

Although his early work borrowed from the neoclassic movement, he eventually adapted the
symbolism and functionalism of the Modern
Movement to generate his plans and forms. Aaltos mature work embodies a unique functionalist/
expressionist and humane style, successfully applied to libraries, civic centers, churches, housing.
Aalto was a master of form and planning, as well
as of details that relate a building successfully to
its users. His buildings have provided renewed
inspiration in the face of widespread disillusionment with high modernism on one hand, and
post-modernism on the other.
Aalto died in Helsinki in May 1976.
Famous Works:
1938 Villa Mairea, Noormarkku,finland.
1949 Saynatsalo Town hall, saynatsalo, finland

Page no: 17

Syntsalo Town Hall

Brief Information:
Location:
Saynatsalo, Finland
Date:
1949
Building Type:
Government offices
Construction System: Brick & wood
Climate:
cold
Context: Small Town center
Style:
Modern, Regional
Notes:
Branching rafters in council
chamber.

Courtyard connected back

to landscape by grass steps.

Figure: Syntsalo Town Hall Site

Discussion
The design of Alvar Aaltos Syntsalo Town Hall is
generally regarded as a major transitional event in
the Aaltos distinguished career, as his work moved
away from the anonymous cubic typology of internationalism, to a more site-specific and humanistic
approach incorporating the tectonic ideals of modernist form.
Alvar Aaltos interest in Mediteranean architecture,
particularly the traditional town square, is clearly
evident in the Syntsalo plan. Aalto compared his
town hall with Italys Palazza Pubblico in Siena, both
using the courtyard motif to symbolize the center of
community and the unification of democratic values.

Figure: Ground Plan

Part ii: Critical Regionalism

The Syntsalo Town Hall plan utilizes a two-part

parti: a U-shaped administrative component, and a
free-standing library block which closes the U while
allowing access on either side.
This arrangement represents a metaphorical community; council chambers, administrative offices,
library, spaces for small business, and residential
apartments.

Figure: Interior view showing materiality

The symbolism extends to the vertical organization

of these parts with the business spaces on the bottom, at street level, the administrative offices on the
second level, and the council chambers occupying
the highest level.
The partially enclosed courtyard is elevated one-story above street level, partly in response to the buildings sloping site, and partly to acknowledge the
increased status of the public realm (civic government), over the private sector (commercial business). The bi-level library massing works to tie the
two domains together.
Page no: 18

Figure: Intergrated courtyard

Alto constructed the building into the wooded hillside of Syntsalo creating a three-story multi-purpose building surrounding an elevated courtyard.
While the main program of the building is housed
within a heavy brick envelope, the courtyard is bordered by a glass- enclosed circulation space
The trusses support both the roof and the ceiling,
creating airflow to manage condensation in the winter and heat in the summer.
Aalto constrained his material palate to one dominated by brick and accented by timber and copper. Figure: Back elevation integrates with the surrounding

Part ii: Critical Regionalism

The hall was planned as a multifunction space

which would include civic offices and meeting
space, private apartment space, shops, a bank, and
a library construction.

landdscape

Figure: The lofty vaulted chamber space imparts a ceremonial monumentality. A pair of spider-like trusses appear
more inclined to inspire awe, than support the roof. Unfortunately, the chamber space is unnaturally dark, more like
a forbidding courtroom, than a cradle of democracy and
transparency.
Page no: 19

Aaltos palette consists of raw, unadorned, materials including red brick, copper, glass and wood.
The slightly rusticated brick is stacked in a Flemish
bond pattern, accentuating the organic quality of the
material, and wraps from the exterior to the interior.

Part ii: Critical Regionalism

The use of brick breaks the abstracted forms down to

a fine textured, more humanized scale, and recalls the
brick of local vernacular industrial structures. The varied window fenestration patterns reinforce the repetitious patterning of the surrounding forest.

Aaltos ascending journey to the council chambers is

characterized by a series of 90 turns: at the bottom of
the granite stair, at the top of the stair to enter the building, inside the reception lobby to face the interior stair,
at the mid-flight landing, and finally a turn left into the
council chambers where the visitor encounters a large
window broken down into patterns of light which shift
with your location in the room.
The interior of the winding stair is clad entirely with red
brick, made more sensuous by the reflected clerestory daylighting. Functionalist planning includes a sliding wood door to close off the council chambers, while
allowing late arrivals to enter through the back of the
room.

Page no: 20

part iii

Neo-Vernacular
Architecture
Definition:
Neo-vernacular architecture involves the conscious reproduction of vernacular forms, or their
transformation into today shells using new green material technologies. Vernacular architecture
is to be the small scale buildings or settlement situations that have survived from the recent past,
which were products of a process that involved a relation to environmental contexts, available
resources and traditional technologies.
Characteristics of Neo-vernacular architecture:
Least change in natural resources to keep the natural face of the earth
Proper exploitation of the resources near to the site
Creating visual harmony between architecture and the natural context
Participation of local people in construction process and construction dynamism
Blending traditional methods of construction with modern ones by a new technological viewpoint
The use of mixed technologies to introduce and develop new technologies
Relative development of planting building-related trees suitable in the specific climatic conditions

Part iii: Neo-Vernacular

Page no: 21

Photo Mosque in New Gourna village designed by hassan fathy, Egypt.

Hassan Farthy

Brief Information:
Hassan Fathy (1900-1989) was one of the first architects to break with modern architecture and to
found a new approach based on a conception of
interpreting forms and masses from the past.
Born to a wealthy family on the 23 March 1900
in Alexandria, Egypt. He moved to Cairo with his
family when he was eight years old, and settled
in Helwan

Part iii: Neo-Vernacular

He was unique in believing that this language

could exist alongside that of an aggressively
modern one that cut all ties with the past he Designed 160 separate projects from modest country retreats to fully planned communities, markets,
schools, theatres, places for worship and for recreation.
He pioneeredappropriate technologyfor building
inEgypt, especially by working to re-establish the
use ofmud brick(oradobe) and traditional as opposed towesternbuilding designsand lay-outs
Famous Works:
1938 Villa Mairea, Noormarkku,finland.
1949 Saynatsalo Town hall, saynatsalo, finland

Page no: 22

Figure: View of the village

Fathys Work expresses the following principles:

The belief in the primacy of human values in architecture
The importance of a universal rather than a limited approach
The use of appropriate technology
The need for socially oriented, cooperative construction techniques
The essential role of tradition
The re-establishment of cultural pride through
the art of building
Hassan Fathy developed his own ideas, inculcating traditional Arab styles like the malkhaf (wind
catcher), the shukshaykha (lantern dome) and the
mashrabeya (wooden lattice screens) which could
be combined with the mud-brick construction.

Part iii: Neo-Vernacular

He designed complete communities including utilities and services, country retreats, and special projects and homes.

Page no: 23

New-Gourna Village

Figure: aerial view part of the village masterplan

Brief Information:
Location:
Near Luxor, Egypt
Date:
1948
Building Type:
Multifamily Housing, Village
Construction System: mud brick & adobe
Climate:
hot, arid
Context: Rural Village
Style:
Modern
Notes:
built after local vernacular
Figure: Ground Plan

Brief Information
The idea for the village was launched by the Egyptian
Department of Antiquities as a potentially cost-effective solution to the problem of relocating an entire entrenched community of entrepreneurial excavators
that had established itself over the royal necropolis
in Luxor.

Part iii: Neo-Vernacular

Figure: First floor plan

The village of New Gourna also seemed to offer

Fathy a perfect opportunity to finally test the ideas
unveiled at Mansouria on a large scale and to see
if they really could offer a viable solution to the rural
housing problem in Egypt.
New Gourna village is located in Luxor on the West
Bank of the Nile River, within the World Heritage
property of Ancient Thebes in Egypt.
The village was designed and built between 1946
and 1952.

Page no: 24

1Part

Page 31
no: 25

Safeguarding of Hassan Fathy's

New Gourna Village

iii: Neo-Vernacular

Agriculture Secondary School

Water Plant
Fire Station
Electricity Station
Ambulance Station

Community Hall
Secondary School
Gourna City Council
Education Admin. & Prep. School
Police Station and Camp

The Village Mosque

The Khan
The Theater
Veterinary Clinic

Tourist Police Station

Nursery and Garage (Gourna City Council)

Upper Egypt Flour Mills Storage

Traffic Police Station

Cattle Breeding Station (Agricultural School)
Agriculture Department

Fence

Subdivision of an Existing Building

Light Structure

Linetypes

Nevine George
Dalia Magdy
Mahmoud Qutb

1 - 2000

A3

10 AUGUST, 2010

New Gourna Village Survey Map

Services and Public Buildings

The Village Mosque

Agriculture Secondary School

The Theater
Fire Station

Safeguarding of Hassan Fathy's

New Gourna Village

The Khan
Water Plant

Part iii: Neo-Vernacular

32
Page no: 26

Public Water Tabs and Zeers

Electricity - Transformer

Electricity - Light Pole

Solid Waste - Collection Point

Solid Waste - Disposal Bin
Sign

Tourist Police Station

Ambulance Station

Sewage - Inspection Chamber

Sewage - Manhole

Symbols

Veterinary Clinic

Electricity Station

Oven

Landscape - Shrubs

Landscape - Tree
Landscape - Palm Tree

Traffic Police Station

Community Hall

Light Structure
Subdivision
of an Existing Building

Linetypes

(Agricultural School)

Secondary School
Cattle Breeding Station

Fence
Difference of Building Heights
Courtyard

Agriculture Department

Gourna City Council

Nursery and Garage (Gourna City Council)

Police Station and Camp

Nevine George
Dalia Magdy
Mahmoud Qutb

1 - 1000

A3

10 AUGUST, 2010

New Gourna Village Survey Map

Upper Egypt Flour Mills Storage

Education Admin. & Prep. School

Figure: Intergrated courtyard

Part iii: Neo-Vernacular

It was created to shelter the community of Old Gourna

(Gournii) who had lived above the tombs in the ancient cemetery of Thebes and whose relocation was
considered as a solution to reduce the damages to
the Tombs of the Pharaonic period.
The main characteristics of New Gourna village consist of
its reinterpretation of a traditional urban and architectural setting
its appropriate use of local materials and techniques
its extraordinary sensitivity to climatic problems.
It demonstrated, within the era of modern movement that sustainability and social cohesion
could also be met with vernacular architectures, local
materials and techniques.
For this reason, it is an outstanding example of sustainable human settlement and appropriate use of
technology in architecture and planning.
Exposed in one of the major architecture and planning
references, Architecture for the Poor: An Experiment
in Rural Egypt by Hassan Fathy, published in 1973,
these ideas inspired a new generation of architects
and planners worldwide through an integration of vernacular technology with modern architectural principles.
Page no: 27

Figure: floor plan, south elevation, section and ground and first floor plans

Part iii: Neo-Vernacular

Interpretation
The Village was meant to be a prototype but rather
than subscribing to the current idea of using a limited
number of unit types, Fathy took the unprecedented
approach of seeking to satisfy the individual needs
of each family in the design

He trained local inhabitants to make their own materials and build their own buildings. Climatic conditions, public health considerations, and ancient craft
skills also affected his design decisions. Based on the
structural massing of ancient buildings, Fathy incorporated dense brick walls and traditional courtyard
I think the success of Hassan Fathy architecture is forms to provide passive cooling.
that he devoted himself to housing the poor in developing nations and deserves study by anyone involved in rural improvement.
Throuout his careeer, Fathy worked to create an indigenous environment at a minimal cost, and in so
doing to improve the economy and the standard of
living in rural areas.
Fathy utilized ancient design methods and materials. He integrated a knowledge of the rural Egyptian
economic situation with a wide knowledge of ancient
architectural and town design techniques.

Page no: 28

PRESENT STATE AND ANALYSIS OF CHANGE OF HASSAN FATHYS HERITAGE

The merging with the new urbanisation has completely disfigured the main road streetscape (right)

The main alterations at the junction of the square with the main road. The iconic image of the village (top left)
has been progressively deleted by the construction of a new 4 storey building, whilst, on the western side
(right), the craft exhibition hall has been replaced by other inconsistent buildings

ex market area: The market area at the east corner that which was supposed to be one of the main entranc-

Part iii: Neo-Vernacular

es to the village, has been progressively subdivided and converted into an underutilised area of storage,
parking and municipal services

Page no: 29

part iv

Post-Modernism
Architecture
Definition:
Post-Modern architecture developed in the 1970s as a reaction to the overly spare aesthetic of
the International style. Structures such as Michael Graves Portland Public Service Building in
Portland, Oregon (1982), reveal a playful and eclectic mix of historical references.
Post Modernism: The functional and formalized shapes and spaces of the modernist style are
replaced by diverse aesthetics: styles collide, form is adopted for its own sake, and new ways
of viewing familiar styles and space abound. Perhaps most obviously, architects rediscovered
past architectural ornament and forms which had been abstracted by the Modernist architects.
Post modernists do not place their philosophy in a defined box or category. Their beliefs and
practices are personal rather than being identifiable with a particular establishment or special
interest group.

Part iv: Post Modernism

Characteristics of critical regionalism:

Post Modern Characteristics
Monumental front facade, an effect achieved by intentionally manipulating the architectural
elements that indicate a buildings scale.
The effect of the chimney is to magnify the scale of the small house and make the facade
appear to be monumental.
Non-structural applique arch
Hole in the wall windows
Proponents of this style include:

Robert Venturi

Edmond & Corrigan Pty Ltd

Philip Johnson

Michael Graves
Vanna Venturi house, philadelphia (usa), Robert Venturi
Guild House, philadelphia (usa), Robert Venturi
The Lieb House
RMIT Building 8, (usa), Robert Venturi

Page no: 30

Photo image of robert venturis work, venna venturi house

Robert Venturi

Brief Information:
Robert Charles Venturi, Jr. (born June 25, 1925)
is an American architect, founding principal of
the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, and
one of the major architectural figures in the twentieth century.
Known for coining the maxim Less is a bore, a
postmodern antidote to Mies van der Rohes famous modernist dictum Less is more.
Famous Works:

Part iv: Post Modernism

1964 Vanna Venturi House, philadelphia, usa

Page no: 31

Vanna Venturi House

Brief Information:
Location:
Millman, Philadelphia
Date:
1964
Building Type:
Residential
Construction System: Light frame
Climate:
Temperate
Context: Suburban
Style:
Post-modern
Notes:
An icon of post-modernism,
created for the architects mother, and featured in
Venturis architectural polemic Complexity and
Contradiction.
Brief Information

Figure: Floor plans

Located in the neighborhood of Chestnut Hill in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was designed by architect
Robert Venturi for his mother Vanna Venturi, and constructed between 1962 -1964.
The main entrance is in the center, creating a sense
of symmetry that both is and is not there due to the
placement of the windows. These windows are located based on function in the interior.
Inside, rather than providing the order and simplicity that the modernists worshipped, Venturis design
chose to surprise, even jar people, with its contradictions.

Part iv: Post Modernism

Figure: Section

The chimney poking out in an exaggerated manner from the back. wo vertical elements thefireplace-chimney and the stair compete, as it were, for
centralposition. And each of these elements, one essentially solid, theother essentially void, compromisesin its shape and position that is,inflects toward the
other to make aunity of the duality of the centralcore
they constitute. On one side the fireplace distorts in
shape andmoves over a little, as does itschimney; on
the other side the stairsuddenly constricts its width
anddistorts its path because of the chimney
The interior design played with concepts of scale,
with an oversized fireplace, and an undersized stairwaywhich leads to nowhere.
The pitched roof rather than flat roof, the emphasis on
the central hearth and chimney Closed ground floor
set firmly on the ground rather than the Modernist
columns and glass walls which open up the ground
floor.

Page no: 32

Commentary
In Venturis the buildings elements appear as fragments of the whole.
The Venturi House has a large, purely ornamental
arch on its facade.
But the Venturi House contradicts it basic symmetry
with asymmetric windows.
The building in most ways is a contradiction to Modern
Architecture.
On the front elevation the broken pediment or gable
and a purely ornamental applique arch reflect a return
to Mannerist architecture and a rejection of Modernism.
Thus the house is a direct break from Modern architecture, designed in order to disrupt and contradict
formal Modernist aesthetics.
More simply, Venturi demonstrated his intentions by
literally breaking away from Modernist establishment
The house was constructed with intentional formal architectural, historical and aesthetic contradictions.
Yet he has also written, This building recognizes complexities and contradictions. It is both: Complex and
simple, Open and closed, Big and little.
Some of its elements are good on one level and bad
on another.
Its order accommodates the generic elements and of
the house in general, and the circumstantial elements
of a house in particular.

Part iv: Post Modernism

In my view, this is a house fueled by a desire to break

away from the modern movement in order to show a
different perspective of architecture. This way there
occurs many contradictions.

Page no: 33

part V

De-Constructivism
Architecture
Related Terms:
Deconstructive thinking
Definition:
The term de-construct-ivism describes what happens in someones head; the basic idea of an
object (like house, for example) is smashed [=deconstructed] into smallest possible pieces,
each of them is carefully thought over and then re-constructed back with new logic.
It is a movement in architecture that views architecture in bits and pieces.
It is also called New Modern Architecture.
It is a development of post-modern architecture. The movement crystallised in the 1980s.
It was influenced by the literary theory of Deconstruction.
It is opposed to the ordered rationality of modernism and post-modernism.
Architecture is detached from function and a free play of design is allowed. It is considered a
pure art. The resultant form may solve some of the functional problems but that is not the main
purpose for it.
Part of the Deconstructivist philosophy was therefore to detacharchitecture from function as
such and to allow a free play of design. In a sense to make architecture/design a pure art. It
might solve some of the functional problems but that was not its main purpose.

Part V: De-constructivism

Characteristics of deconstructivism:
Explodes architectural form into loose collections of related fragments.
Destroys the dominance of the right angle and the cube by using the diagonal line and the
`slice of space.
Uses ideas and images from Russian Revolutionary architecture and design -Russian Constructivism
Searches for more DYNAMIC spatial possibilities and experiences not explored (or forbidden) by the Modern Movement.
Provokes shock, uncertainty, unease, disquiet, disruption, distortion by challenging familiar
ideas about space, order and regularity in the environment.
Rejects the idea of the `perfect form for a particular activity and rejects the familiar relationship between certain forms and certain activities.

Page no: 34

Jacques Derrida Philosophy (July 15, 1930 October 9, 2004)

In the 1960s the French philosopher, Jacques Derrida who had studied the work of Freud, developed and began to apply this deconstructive technique to the study of philosophical texts.
Derridas approach was as follows:
1. Whereas Freud had listened to what his patients had to say, Derrida analyzed what other
people WROTE, but with the same purpose in mind. That is to reveal the repressed ideas which
underlay the apparently smooth, elegant and well-constructed arguments put forward by other
philosophers.
2. He wanted to find the inconsistencies in their ideas by analyzing the way they wrote them:
again the figures of speech they used and the way they avoided certain topics which might
contradict the coherence of the model of experience which they had put forward.
3. Derrida believed that no theory could pretend to be absolutely consistent, logical or present
itself as a self-contained and whole system. If it did, it could only do so by hiding or repressing
something which did not fit its view of things.
The year 1998 marked a turning point in the very essence of architecture, when Philip Johnson
and Mark Wigley from the curators standpoint presented the exhibition titled Deconstructivist
Architecture. At the aforementioned event held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York
the public had a chance to observe the work of seven architects; Zaha M. Hadid, Peter Eisenman, Bernard Tschumi, Coop Himelblau, Daniel Libeskind, Frank O. Gehry and Rem Koolhaas.
The architectural projects featured at the aforesaid exhibition have been summarized with the
generic brand of Deconstructivist Architecture.

Part V: De-constructivism

Proponents of this style include:

Bernhard Tschumi

Zaha Hadid

Peter Eisenman

Rem Koolhas

Daniel Libeskind

Frank Gehry

Coop Himmelblau

Page no: 35

Photo image of guggenheim bilbao musem

FRANK OWEN GEHRY

Brief Information:

Part V: De-constructivism

Frank Gehry was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

in 1929. He studied at the Universities of Southern California and Harvard, before he established
his first practice, Frank O. Gehry and Associates
in 1963. In 1979 this practice was succeeded by
the firm Gehry & Krueger Inc.
Over the years, Gehry has moved away from a
conventional commercial practice to a artistically
directed atelier. His deconstructed architectural style began to emerge in the late 1970s when
Gehry, directed by a personal vision of architecture, created collage-like compositions out of
found materials. Instead of creating buildings,
Gehry creates ad-hoc pieces of functional sculpture.
Gehrys architecture has undergone a marked
evolution from the plywood and corrugated-metal vernacular of his early works to the distorted
but pristine concrete of his later works. However,
the works retain a deconstructed aesthetic that
fits well with the increasingly disjointed culture to
which they belong

Page no: 36

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Brief Information:
Location:
Bilbao, Spain
Date:
1997
Building Type:
Art museum
Construction System: Steel frame, titatium sheathing
Cli/mate:
Temperate
Context: Urban
Style:
Expressionist odern
Notes:
A free scuplture of curvaceous metal-clad forms.

Part V: De-constructivism

Figure: Bilbao museum Site view

Page no: 37

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Frank Gehrys design for the Guggenheim Museum in
Bilbao, Spain is so completely unhindered by traditional
rules that regulate architectural design that the building
has a sculptural appearance that is totally independent
of any school of architecture from history.

Building information:
Unhindered by traditional rules that regulate architectural designs.
Sculptural appearance.
Built of limestone, glass and titanium.

Gehry designed on a computer the moving and open

curvilinear forms that are reminiscent of an opening
flower. The small titanium singles that sheath the exterior of the building, shimmering in the sunlight and reflecting the changing colors in the atmosphere, further
emphasize the high tech origins of the design.

Exterior has open curvilinear forms that are reminiscent of an opening flower.

Part V: De-constructivism

The interior is as exciting as the exterior, having rooms

in various shapes and sizes. The huge atrium has a
network of skylights above with catwalks and elevator
cages running throughout the space below it.

Eleven thousand square meters of exhibition space

are distributed over nineteen galleries. Ten of these
galleries have a classic orthogonal plan and can
be identified from the exterior by their stone finishes. Nine other irregularly shaped galleries present a
remarkable contrast and can be identified from the
outside by their swirling forms and titanium cladding.
The largest gallery, measuring 30 meters wide and
130 meters long, was used for temporary exhibitions
for several years. In 2005, it became the site of the
largest sculpture commission in history, Richard Serras monumental installation The Matter of Time.

Page no: 38

Commentary
Gehry tried to involve the project within a larger urban scheme, revitalizing the waterfront, exploring
the places from where better views could be enjoyed
and those where the museum should have a more
modest scale.
Although the metallic form of the exterior looks almost floral from above, from the ground the building
more closely resembles a boat, evoking the past industrial life of the port of Bilbao. Constructed of titanium, limestone, and glass, the seemingly random
curves of the exterior are designed to catch the light
and react to the sun and the weather.
Gehrys use of cutting-edge computer-aided design
technology enabled him to translate poetic forms
into reality. The resulting architecture is sculptural
and expressionistic, with spaces unlike any others
for the presentation of art. The museum is seamlessly integrated into the urban context, unfolding its interconnecting shapes of stone, glass, and titanium
on a 32,500-square-meter site along the Nervin River in the old industrial heart of the city.
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is a pinnacle in
Gehrys outstanding architectural career as well as
in the field of museum design.
It remains unsurpassed in its integration of art and
architecture, maintaining an aesthetic and programmatic unity.

Part V: De-constructivism

Bulbous forms flow together in a structure that appears to defy its structural foundations, refuses to
harmonize with its surroundings, and does not favor
any one particular historical style.

Page no: 39

REFERENCES
Stoller, Ezra. The Chapel at Ronchamp. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1999.
Le Corbusier. Towards a New Architecture. New York: Dover Publications, 1985.
Chris Abel, Regional Transformations. Architectural Review, November 1986
Hassan Fathy, Architecture for the Poor: An Experiment in Rural Egypt. Chicago, 1973.
Kenneth Frampton, Towards a Critical Regionalism: Six Points for an Architecture of
Resistance, in The Anti-Aesthetic. Essays on Postmodern Culture (1983) edited by Hal
Foster, Bay Press, Seattle.

References

Vanna Venturi House By Robert Venturi At Greatbuildings. GreatBuildings. N.p., 2016.

Web. 26 Mar. 2016.

Page no: 40