Architecture
Architecture is the driver and motivator for construction materials and therefore also for concrete. Everybody engaged in Cement, Concrete or other construction materials should be interested in architecture.
Modern Architecture would not be possible without concrete – only concrete allows to reduce the forms to an absolute minimum, emphasize functionalities and create these new styles. Today´s metropolitans are strongly influenced by this architecture, started in the first decades of the 20th century.
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- Bauhaus |
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| - Deconstructivism | |
| - Minimalism | |
| - Organic Architecture | |
| - Postmodernism |
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Modernist architecture emphasizes function. It attempts to provide for specific needs rather than imitate nature. The roots of Modernism may be found in the work of Berthold Luberkin (1901-1990), a Russian architect who settled in London and founded a group called Tecton. The Tecton architects believed in applying scientific, analytical methods to design. Their stark buildings ran counter to expectations and often seemed to defy gravity. Modernist architecture can express a number of stylistic ideas, including: |
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Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at |
Modernist architecture has the following main features:
- Little or no ornamentation
- Factory-made parts
- Man-made materials such as metal and concrete
- Emphasis on function
- Rebellion against traditional styles
Architects, influenced by this style:
In the later decades of the twentieth century, designers rebelled against the rational Modernism and a variety of post modern styles evolved. Examples of post modern architecture include:
Expressionism and Neo-expressionism
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Expressionism evolved from the work of avant garde artists and designers in Germany and other European countries during the first decades of the twentieth century. Key features of Expressionism are:
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The Einstein Tower in Potsdam - Erich Mendelsohn |
Neo-expressionism built upon expressionist ideas. Architects in the 1950s and 1960s designed buildings that expressed their feelings about the surrounding landscape. Sculptural forms suggested rocks and mountains. Organic and Brutalist architecture can often be described as Neo-expressionist.
Architects influenced by this style:
- Gunther Domenig
- Hans Scharoun
- Rudolf Steiner
- Bruno Taut
- Erich Mendelsohn
- Walter Gropius (early works)
- Eero Saarinen
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Bauhaus is a German expression meaning house for building. In 1919, the economy in Germany was collapsing after a crushing war. Architect Walter Gropius was appointed to head a new institution that would help rebuild the country and form a new social order. Called the Bauhaus, the Institution called for a new "rational" social housing for the workers. Bauhaus architects rejected "bourgeois" details such as cornices, eaves, and decorative details. They wanted to use principles of Classical architecture in their most pure form: without ornamentation of any kind. Bauhaus buildings have flat roofs, smooth facades, and cubic shapes. Colors are white, gray, beige, or black. Floor plans are open and furniture is functional. The Bauhaus school disbanded when the Nazis rose to power. Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and other Bauhaus leaders migrated to the United States. The term International Style was applied to the American form of Bauhaus architecture. |
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The Bauhaus Gropius in Lincoln, Massachusetts |
Architects, influenced by this style:
- Walter Gropius
- Le Corbusier
- Richard Neutra
- Philip Johnson
- Mies van der Rohe
- Marcel Breuer
When American architect Louis Sullivan coined the phrase "form follows function," he described what later became a dominant trend in Modernist architecture. Louis Sullivan and other architects were striving for "honest" approaches to building design that focused on functional efficiency. Functionalist architects believed that the ways buildings are used and the types of materials available should determine the design.
Of course, Louis Sullivan lavished his buildings with ornamental details that did not serve any functional purpose. The philosophy of functionalism was followed more closely by Bauhaus and International Style architects.
Toward the end of the 20th century, the term Functionalism was used to describe any practical structure that was quickly constructed for purely practical purposes without an eye for artistry. However, for Bauhaus and other early Fuctionalists, the concept was a liberating philosophy that freed architecture from frilly excesses of the past.
Designed by Louis I. Kahn, the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Connecticut is an example of Functionalism in architecture.
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International Style is a term often used to describe Bauhaus architecture in the United States. The name came from the historian and critic Henry-Russell Hitchcock and architect Philip Johnson in 1932. The term is again used in later by Walter Gropius. While German Bauhaus architecture had been concerned with the social aspects of design, America's International Style became a symbolism of Capitalism: The International Style is the favored architecture for office buildings, and is also found in upscale homes built for the rich. One of the most famous examples of the International Style is the United Nations Secretariat building, designed by Le Corbusier. The smooth glass-sided slab dominates New York's skyline along the East River. The United Nations Secretariat building was completed in 1952. |
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United nations Secretariat Building, New York City - |
Architects, influenced by this style:
- Le Corbusier
- Richard Neutra
- Philip Johnson
- Mies van der Rohe
- Marcel Breuer
Structuralism is based on the idea that all things are built from a system of signs and these signs are made up of opposites: male/female, hot/cold, old/young, etc. For Structuralists, design is a process of searching for the relationship between elements. Structuralists are also interested in the social structures and mental processes that contributed to the design.
Structuralist architecture will have a great deal of complexity within a highly structured framework. For example, a Structuralist design may consist of cell-like honeycomb shapes, intersecting planes, cubed grids, or densely clustered spaces with connecting courtyards.
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As the name suggests, Formalism emphasizes form. The architect is interested in visual relationships between the building parts and the work as a whole. Shape, often on a monumental scale, is the focus of attention. Lines and rigid geometric shapes predominate in Formalist architecture. You will find Formalism in many Modernist buildings, especially in Bauhaus and International Style architecture. Architect I.M. Pei has often been praised for the "elegant formalism" of his works. |
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Yale Center for British Art - L. Kahn |
High-tech buildings are often called machine-like. Steel, aluminium, and glass combine with brightly colored braces, girders, and beams. Many of the building parts are prefabricated in a factory and assembled later. The support beams, duct work, and other functional elements are placed on the exterior of the building, where they become the focus of attention. The interior spaces are open and adaptable for many uses.
The High-tech Centre Pompidou in Paris appears to be turned inside out, revealing its inner workings on the exterior facade.
Architects, influenced by this style:
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The Bauhaus architect Le Corbusier used the French phrase béton brut, or raw concrete, to describe the construction of his rough, concrete buildings. Brutalism grew out of the Bauhaus Movement and the béton brut buildings by Le Corbusier and his followers. Heavy and angular, Brutalist buildings can be constructed quickly and economically. Common features include:
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Da Rocha Residence, Sao Paolo - Paulo Mendes |
The Prizker Prize-winning architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha is often called a "Brazilian Brutalist" because his buildings are constructed of prefabricated and mass-produced concrete components. Shown here is his home in São Paulo, Brazil.
The Bauhaus architect Marcel Breuer turned to Brutalism when he designed the Whitney Museum in New York City and the Atlanta, Georgia Central Library.
Deconstructivism, or Deconstruction, is an approach to building design that attempts to view architecture in bits and pieces. The basic elements of architecture are dismantled. Deconstructivist buildings may seem to have no visual logic. They may appear to be made up of unrelated, disharmonious abstract forms. Deconstructive ideas are borrowed from the French philosopher Jacques Derrida.
Architects, influenced by this style:
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One important trend in Modernist architecture is the movement toward minimalist or reductivist design. Hallmarks of Minimalism include:
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Casa de Luis Barragan, home and studio - Luis Barragan |
Modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe paved the way for Minimalism when he said, "Less is more." Minimalist architects drew much of their inspiration from the elegant simplicity of traditional Japanese architecture. Minimalists were also inspired by a movement of early twentieth century Dutch artists known as De Stijl. Valuing simplicity and abstraction, De Stijl artists used only straight lines and rectangular shapes.
The Mexico City home of the Pritzker Prize-winning architect Luis Barragán is Minimalist in its emphasis on lines, planes, and open spaces.
Architects, influenced by this style:
- Tadao Ando
- Luis Barragan
- Yoshio Taniguchi
- Richard Gluckman
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Frank Lloyd Wright said that all architecture is organic, and the Art Nouveau architects of the early twentieth century incorporated curving, plant-like shapes into their designs. But in the later half of the twentieth century, Modernist architects took the concept of organic architecture to new heights. By using new forms of concrete and cantilever trusses, architects could create swooping arches without visible beams or pillars. Organic buildings are never linear or rigidly geometric. Instead, wavy lines and curved shapes suggest natural forms. |
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The Sydney Opera House - Jorn Utzon |
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Postmodern architecture evolved from the modernist movement, yet contradicts many of the modernist ideas. Combining new ideas with traditional forms, postmodernist buildings may startle, surprise, and even amuse. Familiar shapes and details are used in unexpected ways. Buildings may incorporate symbols to make a statement or simply to delight the viewer. Philip Johnson's At&T Headquarters is often cited as an example of postmodernism. Like many buildings in the International Style, the skyscraper has a sleek, classical facade. At the top, however, is an oversized "Chippendale" pediment. The key ideas of Postmodernism are set forth in two important books by Robert Venturi: Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture and Learning from Las Vegas. |
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AT&T Headquarter - Philip Johnson |
Architects, influenced by this style: