The Controversy Of Material Displacement

An architect’s intention on how his or her design is to be viewed can be misconstrued in a variety of different ways. For example, dissecting the compositional and formal design of a building, with or without knowledge of the architect’s actual intent, is completely up to the interpretation of the person or persons researching or viewing the design. In my own research about the compositional and formal design of the Margaret Esherick House, designed by Louis Kahn, I have come to realize, with the help of scholarly resources, the direct intention of Louis Kahn’s design; in which this paper will come to analyze and explain. While compiling research about the Esherick house, I came across a very informative book, The Houses of Louis Kahn, written by George H. Marcus and William Whitaker. The Houses of Louis

Behind every building, there is an idea. No architect can deny that both Frank Lloyd Wright and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe developed and introduced a style of architecture that has left a lasting influence on design and concept. Their philosophy of modernism has similarities that can be seen throughout the design of their structures, however, their, contrasting views of modernism is distinguishable in Wright’s Falling Water and Mies’ Farnsworth house. Their choices of the building site, material, and idea behind the structures separate the two architects and their philosophies.

Due to an unfortunate dying genre in the humanities; as a result of the contemporary economic tract housing, architecture has taken a backburner in the world of art over the last couple of decades. However, fragments of the beauty created many years ago still exists. Frank Lloyd Wright and Zaha Hadid, though different in their architectural visions both contributed and continue to contribute to the art of architecture today, surpassing their existence here on earth. While gender differences are evident, both renowned architects overcame obstacles to achieve a legacy far greater than expected. Wright, withstanding an era negatively impacted by race and war persevered through, managing his struggles with tragedy, misfortune and ill-fated

The Sydney Opera House is an enormously iconic building and sculpture which captures the eyes of many architects to this day. Its outstanding design has enrolled it into a World Heritage Site in 2005. The sculpture at the time of construction was thought to be a daring and impossible design but after years of close planning, it became a possible concept. The building is of outstanding universal value for achievements and structural engineering brilliance. It is one of Australia’s main icons, along with the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Australian War Memorial, but the opera house shows its significance as an architectural object of great beauty which inspires many young architects.

However while captivating as a civilizing and driving force, the prevailing opinion of the art’s imagery is envisioned to be on a par with that of classical Greek, Roman, and Renaissance era style. This societal banality is passionately endorsed by many including the dean of the Stanton Institute of Technology who insisted to Howard Roark that modern architecture shall “adapt the beauty of the past to the needs of the present” and that “the voice of the past” is the standard that all must collectively subordinate to (p.24). In contrast to the heroism elevated by Howard Roark, architecture has been alternatively revered as a phenomenon that invigorates collectivism as foretold by the antagonist Ellsworth M. Toohey. Penning an article entitled “Sermons in Stone” Toohey downgrades the ideal of architecture as the utmost decadence of the human spirit. Dismissing modernistic perspectives of the art, he perceives architecture in that “A great building is not the private invention of some genius or other. It is merely a condensation of the spirit of a people” (p.78). As the diabolical force that typifies affrontation to Howard Roark’s progressive ideology of heroic man-worship, Toohey is displayed by Ayn Rand as a by-product of the darkest side of the imagery of architecture.

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.

After the World War II Australian architects had to adjust themselves with the strict government guidelines for new building construction due to materials shortages. In this presentation we will see the works of two different architects from different periods of post-war era.

Designing and decorating a room is giving it a sense of purpose and personality. In the sixties, this became about capitalising on the influence of the Space Race, which right from its ‘infancy’ was having an observable impact on culture and art. It brought with it a growing appetite for what was considered to be the cutting edge of technological and human advancement. It is agreed that it was in the architectural landscape of the West’s cities that this shift was most noticeable. They were updated with ‘upswept winglike roofs, domes, satellite shapes and starbursts that became the dominant visual language of motels, diners and gasoline stations’. It is for this reason that Colombo’s apartments were as contained as spacecraft and I feel contextualises something of the general climate that lead to the chrome dipped Factory itself being a rather futuristic ‘spillover from the silvery streamlining of the space program’. For Warhol, for whom the now was paramount, working from somewhere that so greatly embraced innovation would have been integral. (Kennedy, 2007)

Charles Rennie Mackintosh , architect, interior designer and watercolourist, was one of the most enigmatic personalities contributing to the rise of Modern Architecture during the early 20th Century. ‘Mackintosh saw things differently, he was a modern man, ahead of his time.’ As an architect he applied his sense of three-dimensional form to create distinctly sculptural works including buildings and furniture. A terrific draughtsman, the young Mackintosh sketched the architectural tradition of Scotland, England and Italy. He was a man of great genius and a pioneer of the Modern Movement; yet he was virtually forgotten even before his death.

On his book on Modern Architecture, Curtis writes that modern architecture was faulted for it’s “supposed lack of ‘recognizable imagery’” towards the end of the 1970s. This statement supports the idea of Jencks’ double coding where architects must now make

Using the quote by Habermas as a starting point, select up to two buildings designed in the twentieth century and examine what ‘sudden, shocking encounters’ they have encountered, or created. Analyse the building’s meanings as a demonstration of an avant-garde, or potentially arriere-garde, position.

This book was written by Juhani Pallasmaa with regard to ‘Polemics’, on issues that were part of the architecture discourse of the time, i.e. 1995. It is also an extending of ideas expressed in an essay entitled “Architecture of the seven senses” published in 1994.

The incredible work of these Modernist architects had a strong and distinct influence on up and coming young Australian Architects during the 1950’s – 1970’s.

From Brutalism to Postmodernism to Minimalism, Kahn’s many directions and superficial fashions can be traced to roots in his original oeuvre. The timelessness of the design and deep personal involvement of Kahn is undoubtedly some of its greatest qualities. Timelessness is exemplified in his Salk Institute design, containing aspects and principles that in a certain sense can be described as universal or eternally valid. In terms of where the structure sits within his portfolio of work, the case can be made that all of Kahn’s later buildings are directly developed from concepts first presented in his design for the Salk Institute. The Institute reformed how we think about buildings and space for those who inhabit it , as well as the honesty and “truth” in the use of materials and their architectural combination.

“ Architecture organizes and structures space for us, and its interiors and the objects enclosing and inhabiting its rooms can facilitate or inhibit our activities by the way they use this language”(Lawson pg.6).