Mid-Late 20th Century Flashcards
1
Q
A
Säynätsalo Town Hall
- example of Aalto’s interest in brick, copper and wood
- provides entire civic center for community
- influenced by Aalto’s travels in Italy (Italian hill towns)
- brick or turf stairs
2
Q
Alvar Aalto
A
- Finnish architect, designer, sculptor, painter
- architecture, furniture, textiles, glassware
- overtones of Classicism and Romanticism
- many clients were industrialists
3
Q
Eero Saarinen
A
- Finnish American architect and industrial designer
- famous for shaping neo-futuristic style according to demands of project
- simple, sweeping, arching structural curves or machine-like rationalism
- designed Gateway Arch in St. Louis
4
Q
A
TWA Terminal, JFK
- fluid, sculptural design reminiscent of flight
- satellite cluster of gates away from main terminal
- most fittings custom designed
- one of first w/enclosed passenger jetways, CCTV, central public address system, baggage carousels, electronic schedule board, and baggage scales
- NYC landmark 1994
- National Register of Historic Places 2004
- built 1956-62
5
Q
Louis I. Kahn
A
- Fusion of seemingly contradictory sources
- Beaux-Arts influence education from U Penn, acquired concept of served and servant spaces
- symmetrical, hierarchically arranged compositions and monumentality in everyday circumstances
- rendered common uncommon, and uncommon transcendent
6
Q
A
Kimbell Art Museum
- Ft. Worth, TX
- apparently barrel vaulted bay, structurally cantilevered pairs meeting at continuous skylight
- constructed of poured-in-place concrete, finishes include travertine, oak, and stainless steel
- spaces are ancient Roman in their monumentality, gravity, and finishes
- scale and sense of humanity make spaces neutral enough to function as proper galleries and flexible enough to provide a rich spatial experience
- built 1966-72
7
Q
Robert Venturi
A
- Student of Louis Kahn
- non-straightforward architecture
- less is a bore
- rooted in cultural diversity of political and social movements, interest in vernacular architecture, New Brutalism, and work of Kahn
8
Q
A
Venturi House
- Chestnut Hill, PA
- 1962
- Combines simplicity of external form w/complexity of interior layout
- Conventional symbols and elements w/contraditory arrangement
- Cramped entry w/concealed double doors
- Stairs and chimney compete for space
- Oversized fireplace and mantle
- Shingle-style form w/landlord green color
- Original furniture of mixed ancestry
9
Q
Philip Johnson
A
- Glass house (inspired by Mies)
- eventually abandoned International Style in favor of crystalline buildings in all glass
- less than consistent critical acclaim for designs
- more important as power broker, garnering media attention, and selection of exhibition participants
10
Q
A
Sony Tower (AT&T Building)
- NYC
- 1984
- breaks completely from Miesian tradition w/references to past architectural styles
- base comprised of giant Serliana
- crown features broken pediment, resembling grandfather clock
- spectacular arched entrancewaY
11
Q
Charles Moore
A
- Known for gentle but studied playfulness
- making buildings immediately accessible to the public and professionals
- played w/historical allusions mixed w/whimsy
- work criticized as superficial and ephemeral
- supporters considered work refreshing and ironic
12
Q
A
Piazza d’Italia
- New Orleans
- 1975-79
- for Italian American community
- debuted to widespread acclaim by artists and architects
- rapid decline shortly after as surrounding development never realized
- sometimes referred to as first “postmodern ruin”
- restored 2004
- characterized as flamboyant, wildly Neo-Classical
- contour map of Italy set in a pool of water w/concentric rings of marble paving
- unintentional satire of Italian government because fountain and lights rarely work
13
Q
Michael Graves
A
- Post-modern architect most agreeable to semioticians
- describes own work as “figurative” w/elements traceable to classical and anthropomorphic sources
- earliest projects neo-Corbusian
- credited w/reintroducing color into 20th century architecture
- style fit well w/clients like Disney
- designed carpets, wallpaper, light fixtures, even placemats and plates for hotel projects
14
Q
A
Portland Building
- Portland, OR
- 1980
- first major postmodern building
- replete w/quotations from classical architecture: temples on roof (never built), giant keystone, fluted pilasters of indeterminate order, tiered stylobate at street level, color
15
Q
Robert Stern
A
- Architect, architectural historian, professor
- early influences include Vincent Scully and Philip Johnson
- identified attributes of post-modern architecture: contextualism (connection b/w building and setting); allusionism (referencing previous styles of architecture); ornamentalism (decorative application of symbols, patterns, elements)
- notable for neo-shingle style houses
17
Q
A
High Museum of Art
- Atlanta, GA
- 1981-84
- leading art museum in southeastern US
- disengaged continuous ramp at atrium
- more conventional orthogonal galleries w/artificial illumination
- criticized as having more beauty than brains
- lobby has almost no exhibition space
- columns throughout the interior restrict the way curators display large works of modern art
19
Q
A
Staatsgalerie
- Stuttgart
- 1977-83
- contains many historical allusions (Greek/Roman pediments, Egyptian cavetto cornices, Mannerist style stonework)
- galleries organized around central open rotunda that functions as a sculpture garden
- reaction to “boring, meaningless, non-committed, faceless flexibility and open-endedness” of current architecture
20
Q
A
Center Pompidou
- Paris
- 1976
- designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers
- contains Public Information Library, National Museum of Modern Art, and IRCAM (music research center)
- structural and mechanical aspects take precedence over formal issues
- articulates and makes visible all components of the building
- interior is plain, unremarkable compared to exterior
- white steel frame w/diagonal bracing
- exterior escalator on front façade
- extreme contrast w/19th century neighborhood
22
Q
A
Hong Kong Bank
- 1986
- responds to site w/views of Hong Kong harbor and Victoria Peak by orienting long sides to north and south
- service and mechanical functions on east and west
- public banking spaces 3rd-12th floors around central atrium
- Sunscoop reflects light into space w/mirrors tracking sun’s path
- ground floor almost entirely open plaza
- 8 steel truss legs support floors suspended in 5 modules of diminishing height, results in column-free plan
24
Q
A
House VI
- Cornwall, CT
- 1972
- 2nd built work
- design of house emerges from a conceptual process instead of a functional or aesthetic approach
- limited construction experience meant building was poorly detailed
- took 3 years to build and went over budget
- reconstructed 1987
- building is meant to be a record of the design process, the methodical manipulation of the grid
- use of the building was ignored (allowed a bathroom, staircase w/no handrail, glass in bedroom prevents double bed)
26
Q
A
Guggenheim Museum
- Bilbao, Spain
- 1997
- sparked popular and critical interest equaled by few other 20th century buildings
- four-story mass of “pleated petals” clad in titanium shingles
- acts as mirror, reflecting and absorbing city
- free-form ground floor, upper floors more regular
- fulfillment of a Baroque spatial dream made possible by modern building and computer technology
28
Q
A
Marika-Alderton House
- Eastern Arnhem Land, Australia
- 1991-94
- commissioned by aboriginal leader
- monsoonal tropical climate
- conceived as prototype and viable alternative to aboriginal public housing (brick w/small windows)
- prefabricated off-site
- elemental - pitched roof, timber platform, and operable skin float in relation to each other
- experienced as an elevated shaded platform
