Architecture and Avant-garde - Essay Example

Architecture and Avant-garde Was there an American avant-garde architecture in the 20th Century How has American domestic architecture responded to modernity and Modernism in the 20th Century Architectural avant-garde American architect and philosopher Frank L. Wright once said, "The mother art is architecture. Without an architecture of our own we have no soul of our own civilization." This is indisputably true since buildings and architectural designs are windows through which once looks into the past and also foresees the future. In fact, "Architecture is to building as literature is to the printed word" (Microsoft Encarta 2007). The word avant-garde, means "advance guard" in French (Webster's New World College Dictionary 94), was first coined just after World War I in France. Conceptually, in architectural terminology, it refers to the adaptation of unconventional or "modern" architectural designs while deviating from the norms and customs of medieval and Renaissance architectural methodology. The notions of avant-garde architecture provided with an underpinning of modern architecture. The avant-garde architecture gave birth to a German association of architects, designers, and industrials Deutscher Werkbund, meaning German Work Federation, which later on proved to be a springboard for modern industrial architectural designs. Moreover, the notions of avant-garde architecture have now raised the bar for modern architecture. The formation of Deutscher Werkbund in 1907 lead the way to the creation of the Bauhaus school, also originated in Germany in 1919, themed on the rejection of history and viewed architecture as a synthesis of art, craft, and technology. The idea behind architectural avant-garde was to abolish the superseded architectural designs of pre-World War I era and espouse the designs which suit the post-war era and new economic order. Avant-garde architecture paradigm has influenced modern architects and their approach to building design. This has propounded architectural themes such as structuralism, post-structuralism, rationalism, empiricism, and phenomenology. Avant-garde approach of architecture relies heavily on reducing buildings to pure forms, removing historical references, and ornament in favor of functionalist details. Ieoh Ming Pei - American Avant-garde Architect The United States of American has seen one of its greatest modern (avant-garde) architects in the shape of Ieoh Ming Pei. The Chinese-born American architect is regarded as an icon in modern architectural designs. He is the recipient of the AIA Gold Medal, the Alpha Rho Chi Medal, the MIT Traveling Fellowship, and the Wheelwright Traveling Fellowship. Pei is deemed as an expert in the use of steel, grass, concrete, and stone for designing skyscrapers and modern business complexes (I. M. Pei Biography, Bio and Profile from Netglimse.com). The Pritzker Prize-winning (Pritzker Prize: architecture's equivalent of the Pulitzer) architect went to Saint John's University, Shanghai before attending University of Pennsylvania at the age of 18. He completed Bachelor of Architecture from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1940 and was also a member of National Defense Research Committee. He was also trained at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (Official biography from Pei Cobb Freed & Partners website). During the late 1940's Pei joined Webb and Knapp as a Director of Architecture. He worked on many large-scale real estate development projects. Later on, in mid-1950's, Pei started his own real estate development enterprise. Ieoh Pei became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1954. During his more than 60-year long career as a modernist architect, Ieoh Pei designed some of the greatest models of modern architectures. They include: National Center for Atmospheric Research, Colorado; Government Center Master Plan, Boston, Massachusetts; Society Hill Towers, Philadelphia, PA; 50 FAA air traffic control towers, in various locations throughout the US; National Airlines terminal at JFK Airport in New York; John F. Kennedy Library, Boston, Massachusetts; Raffles City Singapore; Bank of China Tower, Hong Kong; Miho Museum, Shiga, Japan; Museum of Islamic Arts, Doha, Qatar; and NASCAR Hall of Fame, Charlotte, North Carolina. The landmark of the city of Paris, the Louvre Pyramid, is, undoubtedly, regarded as Pei's most prominent architectural design. The pyramid is a large glass and metal structure, enclosed by three smaller pyramids, in the quad of the Muse du Louvre Museum, Paris, France. It was completed in 1989. The 20.60 meters high (approximately 70 feet) monumental structure serves as the main entrance to the museum with square bases of 115 feet width. The distinction of this structure makes it a role model as several other museums have replicated this concept around the world, chiefly the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, USA. When, in 1983, the French President Francois Mitterand "personally selected Mr. Pei to design the Grand Louvre to give air, space, and light to one of the world's most congested museums," (Markham, 65) it caused a controversy in French press which "lambasted the idea of shattering the harmony of the Louvre's courtyard with a glass iceberg" (Markham, 68). But the legendary architect proved his critics wrong and completed the project within six years with excellence and in great style. American Domestic Architecture Domestic architecture is predominantly reflective of any changes in the size and structure of families, and of the socioeconomic values of those designing and building houses. As a society undergoes change the public conception of what constitutes an appropriate type of house also changes. As a consequence, new house types, methods of construction, building codes, and modes of ornamentation are adopted. A breakthrough in the American housing industry was the promulgation of The Homestead Act of 1862 which provided property ownership to millions of American citizens and evolved the nature of settlement style. The Act offered a modest farm, free of charge, to any adult male who cultivated the land for five years and built a residence on the property. This recognized a rural pattern of remote farmsteads in the Midwest and West as a replacement for the European-influenced villages of the northeastern states. American architectural designs have been a standard-bearer for modern architecture for the last five decades. Since the end of the World Was II American advancement in the architectural engineering has played an imperative part in the overall development of this field. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Chicago Institute of Technology, and the Harvard Graduate Design School have become source of many modern-day innovative ideas in the architectural sciences. United States has gain strength in this area from the multi-cultural and regionally diverse social context of its people. Contemporary American architectural structures are hybrid of Japanese, English, Spanish, Swedish, and Danish architectural designs. Background American architecture refers to the development of architectural designs in Europeans colonies of North American, and later on the United States of America. This period of development of architectural paradigms in the US spans over past five centuries -from mid 1500's to the twentieth century. However, research has shown that the oldest architectural structure on American mainland was build thousands of yeas ago by the Ancient Pueblo Peoples of New Mexico. Europeans brought with them new techniques of construction and their architectural traditions. Wood and brick become important ingredients of construction as they were used in the Europe. However, it is important to note that during those days American did not have a large stock of sophisticated, architecturally educated designers who would build building on their own. Americans also faced paucity of money to make the architecture possible. The architectural designs that served as a role model were to the wealthy American builders tended to follow English models. These housing projects were essentially utilized by the middle-class house builders. The major influence on the domestic architectural designs in the United States were English, French, German, and Dutch architecture, particularly of architectural plans being published in Great Britain in the mid nineteenth Century. American Avant-garde Architectural Era Since the 19th century marked the heydays of industrial revolution in the United Stated, it altogether changed the architectural designs to make use of the burgeoning economy. The economic boom of the industrial revolution forced American architects to designs large-scale housing projects, dense commercial complexes, and sophisticated industrials edifices. The changing times demanded the architects to improve their skill-set accordingly. Resultantly, most of the American architects of the period were trained at cole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. These architects became leaders in their discipline as they had the opportunity to learn the advanced architectural techniques of the time and practiced them in their homeland. They built sumptuous residences, both in fashionable residential neighborhoods of industrial cities, for their industrialist clients. An important aspect of American Avant-garde Architectural Era is the development of public building such as libraries, parks, educational institutions, and government entities throughout the United States. The Boston Public Library (1887-1895) is a classical example of ancient Roman and Italian Renaissance methodologies and modern American architectural style. Another symbol of American modern architect was the Pennsylvania Station (1902-1910) in New York City. This station was the gateway for New York City but was demolished later on for the expansion of the Madison Square Garden. Modern Domestic Architecture in the United States The United States spearheaded the development of advanced building technologies in the post-World War II era. Engineering became a distinctly separate profession, and works such as the Brooklyn Bridge was amongst the most remarkable of all American accomplishments. The technical improvements of this era incorporated the use of cast iron, steel, and reinforced concrete in construction. The tendency toward functional design, which had been gradually rising, attained its greatest expression in the works of the so-called Chicago school of architecture led by Louis Henry Sullivan. Sullivan opposed the historical eclecticism and used modern materials in such a way as to emphasize their function. Throughout the nineteenth century, leading American architects were hired by wealthy clients, mainly industrialists, seeking large suburban or country houses. This provided a great stimulus for the domestic housing industry in the United States. Domestic designs included garages, central heating or cooling, and household appliances such as washing and drying machines, central vacuum systems, kitchen appliances, etc. These advances placed an emphasis on functional design at the expense of historical precedent. This period saw the return of Renaissance- and Roman-liked housing style in much of the America. Baltimore, North Carolina was the prime location for the neoclassical housing estates in the entire country. This became a golden period for American architecture as both the commercial and the residential architecture boomed in an unprecedented manner making architecture a noble prestige for the United States. American Domestic Architecture in the 20th Century Modern domestic designs varied from traditional stylistic forms in the approach that space is consumed as an important ingredient to create compositional relationships between materials, shapes, surfaces, and patterns. These architectural designs stem from individual needs and seek to craft an architecture articulating individual rather than cultural functions. Instead of building a social statement proclaiming status or wealth, modern designs seek to present a solution to clients' needs and lifestyle. The G. I. Bill of Rights of 1944 provided with another federal government decision that changed the domestic architectural industry of the US. It catered government-backed loans that made acquisition of housing easier for middle-income Americans. Eric L. Wright, regarded as one of the greatest architects of the twentieth century, developed an extremely creative approach to domestic design before World War I, which became known as the "Prairie Style." The last quarter of the 20th Century had two significant architectural approaches. Firstly, it carried through the International Style modernism on an even larger scale for both domestic and commercial buildings. On the other hand, the second approach, the antithesis of the former, relied heavily of the expression and representation of the historical detailing and incorporation of the vernacular architecture while preserving some of the fundamentals of modernism. The latter approach, sometimes known as postmodernism, inspired the general public more than the contemporary mechanical quality of the International Style. Globalization and the advancement of science and technology also influenced modem architectural notions around the world. The pursuit to erect the world's tallest building shifted to Europe and Southeast Asia, and experience in skyscrapers design made American architects particularly sought-after for these projects. The twin Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was the world's tallest building until 2003. Modern Commercial Architecture in American: With the expansion in the American economy and upward trend of economic growth the need of business and commercial edifice increased many-fold. This shifted the focus of architects from public buildings to the business centers. By the end of the 19th century, architects across the country had converted to complete skeleton framing of steel, with a relatively lower probability of fire damage. Another advancement of this period was the creation of elevators for multi-story buildings. These elevators proved to be a great stimulus for later work on tall buildings. The most notable modern architectural innovation in the United States is the skyscraper. One of the most outstandingly skyscrapers of the early 20th Century was the Fuller Building in New York City. An intriguing thing about the Fuller Building, popularly known as the Flatiron Building, is that it seems taller than 21 storey building when viewed from the pointed end. However, the tallest building in the United States during the first-half of the twentieth Century was the Woolworth Building in New York City (just a few blocks away from the Flatiron Building). Woolworth was a 55-storey, 241 meters (792 feet) high building. The Woolworth Building was the tallest building in the world for almost twenty years after its construction. In September 2001, it narrowly escaped significant damage when the nearby World Trade Center collapsed. Another modern American architectural symbol is the Empire State Building in the New York City. It is a 102-storey building. From its completion in 1930's, it was the world's tallest building for more than forty years. Postmodernism: Individual postmodern architects have not limited themselves to a single style. Their work ranges from that the International Style to work that is thoroughly based on ancient or Renaissance archetypes. As mentioned earlier, the Chinese-American architect I. M. Pei played a significant role in the postmodern era of architectural engineering. His design of the National Library, built from 1968 to 1978, in Washington D.C. is an emblem of postmodern architectural design because of its use of oblique masses that reflect the diagonals of Washington's street plan. Another such example is the United Airlines Terminal at O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, a work of American architect Helmut John, used large-scale forms of late modernism and stressed and made use of the artistic effects of metal structural framing and colored glass sheathing. Contrary to these postmodern extensions of International Style modernism are various forms of postmodern architecture that utilize historically based forms and details. In the city of Portland, Oregon the first postmodern American public building project was initiated. It was called the Portland Building and took six year (from 1978 to 1984) to complete. The Portland project was first of its kind as it was the first important public commission on housing. This lead to the establishment of several other public housing commissions throughout the United States. During the last twenty-five years, the dominant variant of postmodernism adapted traditional architectural details excluding the awkwardness and oddities of ironic postmodernism. Other deviations of postmodernism integrated latent classicism and archaeological classicism. Bibliography 1. "American Architecture," Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2007, http://encarta.msn.com 1997-2007 Microsoft Corporation. 2. Netglimse.com. Home page. 4 May 2008 < http://www.netglimse.com/celebs/pages/i_m_pei/index.shtml > 3. Pei Cobb Freed & Partners Architects LLP. Home page. 4 May 2008 < http://www.pcfandp.com/a/f/fme/imp/b/b.html > 4. Simon & Schuster Inc. Webster's New World College Dictionary, Third Ed., Cleveland, Ohio, 1997. Read More