20th Century Architecture And Theory

Architecture in the 1950s was representative of the conformity caused by the Cold War. McCarthyism and the Red Scare were some of the major sources of this conformity. McCarthyism was the persecution of innocent people assumed to be communist and the forced conformity that the practice aroused in American public life. As the government grew more and more concerned with the development of communism in the United States, the country became extremely against communism and with the help of John McCarthy, the government set out on a mission to find all the communists hiding in the depths of America; many people were questioned and hundreds were either killed or exiled, even those that were wrongly convicted. With the threat of being removed from

Influenced by his readings of ancient and modern architectural writings, Jefferson gleaned the best from both his readings and from his observations in Europe, creating his own personal style of architecture, a mix of Neoclassicism’s Roman temples, and Palladian villa. Partly, because of Jefferson’s influence, our federal buildings set an American precedent for the neoclassical style. Jefferson’s admiration for neoclassical style went so far as to design

Question 1. Choose an architect or practice whose work is covered by or relevant to this course and discuss critically one or more of their design projects or drawings or urban proposals as precedent case-studies. Selectively situate this work in relation to their body of work, and against the practices and concerns of the period. Focus on the architectural qualities of a specific key aspect of the design of the projects. Selectively consider how they might relate to the historical situation, cultural values, theoretical concerns and design practices of the time. This may involve a selective analysis of compositional design practices, material fabrication production and the experiential reception of built outcomes of the projects.

I was recently in Washington D.C. where I visited a number of public buildings. I immediately thought of Washington D.C. when I saw this discussion assignment. There are an abundance of buildings there designed in the classical order. However, I will focus on the U.S. Supreme Court building – which is one of the three above.

The Philadelphia Centennial of 1876 is the origin starting point for a rebirth of the colonial architectural heritage of America and the early English and Dutch houses of the Atlantic seaboard. The increasing popularity of colonial influences on contemporary architecture motivated a highly publicized tour of a group of architects in 1877 who observed and recorded Georgian and Federal houses of New England. The simplicity of colonial designs and honest use of materials with more economical plans than the recently popular picturesque homes also contributed to the growing popularity of the style. Even a century after “modern” architecture was introduced, Colonial Revival motifs continue to be popular in new construction. These homes got their

The history of Architecture started long time ago. The nomadic were groups of people whom move from one place to another in order find shelter and food to survive. As they progress, their techniques to survive evolve. The need for a permanent shelter became vital for a better stability of the group. This is the time when the first structures that provided protection appeared. Post and lintel were the first forms of Architecture, that satisficed the basic needs. Architecture evolved to be more sophisticated and fulfill the people’s needs. Consequently, Architecture evolved throughout different periods such as: Ancient architecture, Romanesque, The medieval, Renaissance, Early modern, and the industrial age, Modernism and Contemporary

West Des Moines holds a wide range of structural appearances that possess different purposes and stand for different ideas. Variation sets buildings and its surrounding areas that are privately owned apart from those that are open to the public. Although, the significance behind structures may go into deeper meanings. Some hold specific purposes that involve religion while others stand to serve on more secular grounds. If we take the time to look around, we can discover how interior and exterior design conveys distinct meaning. By entering into these buildings, we may discover the diverse functions they serve in relation to structural engineering and unique aesthetics. The framework for centralized control within different societal environments

Washington DC is known for patriotic monuments and grand office buildings. The city’s architecture has become a cornerstone of the Capital’s identity and depicts the area’s unique and rich history. An overlooked part of Washington DC’s architecture is found in the city’s hotels. These buildings represent distinct architecture, tell aspects of the area’s most historic moments and have housed the prominent and elite who have come through the Capital within the past two centuries. The Omni Shoreham Hotel and the Willard InterContinental Hotel have many similarities, yet also many differences. All in all though, they both contribute to Washington DC’s identity. This paper will describe the hotels, analyze their architecture, explain their significance to American and DC history and culture and draw similarities and differences between the two buildings.

A popular, dominating style of home in Colonial America was the “Georgian” which can be traced to the prime of Europe, the Italian Renaissance. Georgian homes as presented lay on a raised foundation and are held by multiple pilasters, which happen to be equally distributed, for another characteristic of these early homes is symmetry. When the line of symmetry is drawn or imagined, the two halves appear identical. From even further than the ground up, from the foundation above, both houses have pillars, pilasters, windows, wood, glass, chimneys and so on of uniform size and style. Even the entablature that lies above the windows and columns appear to have no variation. Within this symmetrical design, there is stability, a decrease in the possibility that the house may cave in; rather than asymmetry, which has a higher likelihood of collapse.

“The good building is not one that hurts the landscape, but one which makes the landscape more beautiful than it was before the building was built” (Frank Lloyd Wright). Throughout the centuries, architecture has fascinated everyone. History is inscribed in buildings and they can express the political and economic power of a nation. Although time has gone by, buildings have not. You can still idolize ancient Egyptian and Greek architecture and see how the events that occurred at that time influenced them.

At the end of World War 1, people came to the realization that the values they held did not seem to correspond to what they believe in anymore because of what they experienced during the war; so, they decided to explore new ones. The 1920’s was an era of breaking social norms in America and adopting new ones that not everyone agreed with. This rebellious nature sparked an energetic and dynamic expression throughout the country. Architecture played an important role in contributing to the 1920’s that still reflects in the present.

Although, most post-modernist architects had been associated with modern architects in terms of training during the twentieth century, they refused most their teachers ideas. In addition, today's architects cannot deny the modern architecture ways of designing any building. Their design, for instance, has many philosophical meaning such as constructional, environmental, sociological, commercial and metaphorical meaning.

The term “Mid-Century Modern” is used to broadly describe a style of architecture and furniture design that was prominent during the post-World War II years.

Today technology allows us to construct structures that we would never have been able to make in the past. Some of the creations are impressive based on what they accomplish but others are masterpieces in themselves. Man’s capability to build such tall buildings, as the skyscrapers we are familiar with covering our cities today, is a major expression of the advancements we have made as a culture. The power necessary to build such tall structures inspired competition between architects to see who could build the tallest one. One skyscraper that has inspired many and served as a model, for high rise buildings that were created after, is the Chrysler Building. The Chrysler Building serves as an identifying mark to anyone that

Different architects have different styles because they are trying to get at different things. Architecture is not just about making something beautiful anymore, it is about trying to get across a set of ideas about how we inhabit space. Two of the most famous architects of the twentieth century, one from each side, the early part and the later part up until today each designed a museum with money donated by the Guggenheim foundation. One of these is in New York City, it was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The other is in bilbao, Spain, and it was designed by Frank Geary. My purpose of this paper is to interrogate each of these buildings, glorious for different reasons, to show how each architect was expressing their own style.