Architecture from the Baroque - Essay Example

History of Architecture from the Baroque to the Present Order No. 294740 No. of pages: 4 6530 The Philadelphia Saving Fund Society (PSFS)building was the first skyscraper to be built in America in the international style, seen more often in European architecture. Its unique design of glass and steel was a departure from the heavy brick and stone buildings favored by most American architects. The building had clearly distinct parts and the strong steel frame that allowed the structure to be cantilevered outwards over the base. (http://xroads.virginia.edu/~1930s/display/chrysler/psfs.html) The building incorporated not only the offices of the bank, but also a shopping centre and separate office space. The design was revolutionary for its time, and rode out the subsequent tide of new innovations, to retain its place as one of the finest pieces of American architecture. It was for this, that it has been hailed as the "Building of the Century" (1969) by the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. In its present avatar, it functions as a hotel, the Loews Philadelphia Hotel, retaining almost all of its old glory and style. The building was lauded for its “simple and impressive grandeur which is unique in modern architecture,” by the Architectural Review in 1934. The Philadelphia Saving Fund Society building has been called a bridge between the building style of the Chicago school of the 1880s and that of the 1950s, which saw a mushrooming of metal and glass buildings. (Jordy in Frampton, 1983) The design for this building was the result of collaboration between Howe, an American and Lescaze, a Swiss émigré, who were in turn influenced by several other structures, and some of the most valuable inputs for the design and structure, especially the “mullioned façade of the 27 storey slab” have been credited to James Willcox, the then president of the bank. The elegant metal furniture for the interior of the building was the work of the German émigré, Walter Baerman. (Frampton, 1983) Howe, in designing the building was guided by the principle that “architectural beauty is the result of the successful interpretation of a human problem in terms of a structural technique.” Howe and Lescaze, working in tandem created a building, meant for commercial use that was so brilliantly organized, that it has few rivals. The building is placed on the adjacent sides of the downtown area, and so there are two entrances, one leading to the office tower and the other to the banking hall. The entrance of the banking hall from the Market Street, leads one straight to the bank by elevators and escalators, which lead to the banking floor, on the level above. The banking counter moves in a “serpentine layout’ in keeping with the rows of columns. Above the banking hall is “a 69 foot span, sixteen and a half-foot deep steel truss” which accommodates the air-conditioning equipment in its “interstices.” The facade of the building is a mix of limestone and granite and “grey and semi glazed black bricks.” The office floors with their horizontal layout are emphasized by the windows, placed as horizontal strips. http://www.aviewoncities.com/philadelphia/psfsbuilding.htm) This was a radical departure from the traditional way of placing rectangular windows on the walls made of masonry. In yet another innovation, the architects placed a service tower, which scaled the building from bottom to top in a ‘T’-shaped spine. The top floor of the building had executive suites. (http://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1085) This building was only the second one in America until then to be fully air-conditioned. (Frampton, 1983) The cooling towers are placed on the roof, and the architects hid these ugly objects from public view, by placing a billboard in front of it. The billboard, proclaiming PSFS, with its 27 ft high letters appearing “magnesium white by day, coral red by night” has become a part of the city skyline. (Dunlap, 2000) The design of the building has been attributed to Howe’s own proto modernist, art deco sketch, which in turn was inspired by the work of Raymond Hood. (Frampton, 1983) The PSFS building, especially its cantilevered design and windows, may have been inspired by the “street façade” of the Tagblatt Building built by Oswald in Stuttgart. The PSFS building can be seen as one in which we find “the calculated use of contrasts.”(Stern, 1975) The tower displays this contrast in its use of floor slabs placed horizontally but with vertical support. The banking room has curved corners, with walls made of grey and white marble, glass and double curtains, while the executive balconies show the use of yellow Siena marble. The floors are laid with dark grey granite, while Belgian black is used for the counters. Howe did not leave even the design of the furniture to others, and himself designed the chrome furniture, upholstered in distinct blue leather. One of the most impressive features of the building is “the most lavish and carefully detailed suite of rooms,” which according to Stern “is probably without parallel in the history of modern architecture in America.” The luxurious quality of the room derives from not just the immodest budget as also from “Howe’s magnificent taste.” These rooms are a study in restrained luxury amid the modernity of the building, brought about by the use of dark - toned wood and fabric set against the panorama of an open sky. The dark elevator hall leads one through a corridor, with paneling on one side and a continuum of windows on the other, which lets in continuous light. A small dining area entices one with a mix of both natural and artificial lighting. From here one goes to the boardroom, dark and formal, the walls displaying portraits of past presidents with a solarium on the outside. The room is simple yet masculine, built as a place where “men could talk.” (Stern, 1975) The PSFS Building was revolutionary for its time, and dubbed as a “mad artist’s idea,” as Howe referred to himself, while writing to Walter Creese (Stern,1975) It left the public gaping at it in awe, when they first laid eyes on it. Most critics dismissed it as ultramodern, but to Willcox, the man behind this project it was ‘ultra –practical.” The building incorporates one of the most fundamental principles which guide architecture, i.e. the Vitruvian ideals of firmness, delight and commodity. The solid structure of the building, enhanced by the aesthetic sense of its builders, who while fashioning a new type of structure never let go the need to cater to the economics of the project. As Howe pointed out to Willcox, he could see in this building “a sense of organic unity in a visible combination of intention, structure and expression.” (Stern, 1975) References David W. Dunlap. From Front Office to Front Desk.Published: Sunday, September 10, 2000 http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/10/realestate/from-front-office-to-front-desk.html?pagewanted=all PSFS Building, Philadelphia http://www.aviewoncities.com/philadelphia/psfsbuilding.htm Top curve magnifier top magnifier bottom Historical Markers Search http://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1085) William Jordy, “PSFS: Its Development and its Significance in modern Architecture,” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians (21:2, May 1962) 47:83 Read More