In the article, “Functionality, Flexibility And Polyvalence,” Herman Herzberger warned that the direct translation of all specific functions into one space results in the fragmentation of the space rather than the a good integration. In his view, flexibility is the “polyvalence of a space.” (Hertzberger, 1991) Aldo Rossi is another architect who appreciated the concept of adaptability, however he related it more at the traditional urban form by criticizing the modern architecture in the name of “naïve functionalism.” Rossi proposed that traditional urban forms are more resilient, more flexible than the modern architecture. Hertzberger shows his concept of flexible space in many of his projects. As an architect who mainly concerned social influence of space and criticized artificial features of modern architecture, he took an attitude to flexible space: ‘’a permanent form allowing polyvalent interpretations without its own changing.’’ This idea about function and form, Hertzberger applied the idea to many of his built projects
Initial flexibility vs Subsequent flexibility.
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They provide two term of flexibility “initial flexibility” and “subsequent flexibility”. “Initial flexibility” is to plan the spacing of windows in such a way that you can insert partition walls on a module of perhaps two meters. The other kind is that everything can change all the time, where all partitions are movable. That is very expensive and most of the time it is not needed, because people’s are not that movable. When for example you have a wall that can move but you have people working with tons of document on the other side. There will be a great likelihood that this wall will never move. Therefore, the question rises if that kind of flexibility is really necessary much of the time? (Proto,
“Form follows function.” Every great Modern architect thought, designed by and breathed these very words. Or at least, their design principles evolved from them. Modern architects Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright, Pierre Chareau, and Rudolf Schindler to name a few believed that the function determined the space whether the space was solely for a particular purpose or they overlapped to allow for multiple uses. Form didn’t just follow function, function defined the space. By focusing on the relationship between the architecture and the interior elements, Chareau’s Maison de Verre expanded the idea of functionalism to include not only the architecture but also the space it creates and how people function within that space.
The paper tries to identify the techniques applied in postmodern architecture in the similarities to traditionalism that leads to the revision of old knowledge and revival of traditional forms through tangible or intangible activities. The
Mies' well known theory of “less is more” is apparent by the spaciousness and functional quality of the Seagram building; everything serves a purpose, either for aesthetic appeal or functionality. “Less is more” is a concept used throughout the architectural world today. “Mies van der Rohe stands as a great moral force of the International Style. The essence of architecture, to Mies, lies in the expression of structure. And his precise, sophisticated, and consistent style of architecture sets an exam...
My aim is to investigate why Tessenow chooses to use such methods of design which are simplistic in style for his own house and how it relates to his other designs in terms of size and dimensions. I would like to see how Tessenow’s work compares to that of other European architects, if there any links, or if Tessenow followed or started any trends in German architecture. But primarily i will focus on the use of space and seeing whether there is a barrier between public and private space or not. I would like to explore how the building affects the user, whether it possesses emotional interfaces, which in turn influence people differently.
The Chinese-American architect Ieoh Ming Pei (I.M) is known as one of the greatest architects of the Twentieth Century. His long, brilliant career was highlighted by several internationally famous structures. While many of Pei’s buildings were generally accepted by the public, some of them precipitated fair amounts of controversy. The most notable of these controversial structures is his Glass Pyramid at the entrance of the Louvre in Paris. For these reasons, I.M. Pei seems to be an architect who exhibits interest in the avant-garde through both the creative design and aestheticism of his architecture.
In conclusion, the debate between aesthetics and functionalism has been around for a long time. It becomes clear however, through research, that the first thing architects consider is function, and then aesthetics. It is because of this approach that aesthetics becomes somewhat of a by-product of the whole design process. By looking at examples of various buildings, it is apparent that aesthetics is important to structure and in many instances has been successfully coupled with function. But in no circumstance should aesthetics take precedence over the function and practicality of a building. It seems more likely that a happy medium between function and aesthetics can be reached, on a project by project basis, and then applied to the design process of creating the building.
People are made of complexities and contradictions. Venturi recognized that buildings should be complex and complicated, too. He theorized and built buildings inspired by this principle, and succeeded because of his emphasis on individual experience and the interaction between humanity and architectural forms. In pursuit of this goal, his pluralist and revolutionary style of architecture embraced difference and ambiguity and rejected the rigid rules of modernism. While undoubtedly influenced by Venturi’s ideas, later postmodern architects failed to live up to his principles by forming their own inflexible rules and not concentrating on the human experience with buildings.
This review focuses on the research paper ‘Architectural Innovation: The Reconfiguration of Existing Product Technologies and the Failure of Established Firms’ (Henderson and Clark, 1990). Radical and incremental innovations have long been the corner stone of which firms base their knowledge of technological innovations. However, the research paper serves to shed light on one of the less evident forms of innovation – Architectural Innovation. Architectural innovations are, as defined by Henderson and Clark, an innovation that change the way in which components of a product are linked together, while leaving the core design concepts untouched (Pg. 1, Para 5). In other words, architectural innovation destroys the usefulness of a firm’s architectural knowledge, but preserves the usefulness of its knowledge about individual product components. The paper argues that the inability of firms to identify and recognise new interactions between components has serious competitive consequences. The argument is exemplified in the photolithographic industry, where one after another, firms lost thei...
The essence of modern architecture lays in a remarkable strives to reconcile the core principles of architectural design with rapid technological advancement and the modernization of society. However, it took “the form of numerous movements, schools of design, and architectural styles, some in tension with one another, and often equally defying such classification, to establish modernism as a distinctive architectural movement” (Robinson and Foell). Although, the narrower concept of modernism in architecture is broadly characterized by simplification of form and subtraction of ornament from the structure and theme of the building, meaning that the result of design should derive directly from its purpose; the visual expression of the structure, particularly the visual importance of the horizontal and vertical lines typical for the International Style modernism, the use of industrially-produced materials and adaptation of the machine aesthetic, as well as the truth to materials concept, meaning that the true nat...
Architecture is the concept of bringing structure, materiality, form and space together as a whole, provide people with enclosed atmosphere to experience. Considering this, it is important to identify that materiality and the purpose of details has been a key methodology to bringing architectural intentions into the design in an affective manner, more over producing an architectural expression. However, this position is rather declining in architecture, reducing tectonics and materiality to being secondary to form and space. With the start of modernism, the attempt to achieve minimalistic style has caused detailing to increasingly develop into a decorative aspect of a building, neglecting its individual contribution to architecture.
To understand the role of place in architecture, the author compares architecture to language. Language has patterns and arrangements, architecture relates directly to what humans do. It changes or evolves as
A teacher of design and history theory of architecture, Mary McLeod examines and builds an argument about what constitutes ‘otherness’ in the discipline of architecture at a time of flux in her 1996 work Every day and Other Spaces. Other can be defined as a new architecture. She starts with the underlying claim that the idea of other is greater than just doing differently. Most that advocate this idea are broken into two categories, those that side with the theorist Jacques Derrida (deconstructivists) and with Michael Foucault (heterotopia.) The political and culture implication and role remained vastly unknown at the time. This is one question put forth by McLeod, followed by the discussion of the notion of ‘everyday life’ and several other
There are 25 major specialties in engineering that are recognized by professional societies. In any one of those 25 specialties, the goal of the engineer is the same. The goal is to be able to come up with a cost effective design that aids people in the tasks they face each day. Whether it be the coffee machine in the morning or the roads and highways we travel, or even the cars we travel in, it was all an idea that started with an engineer. Someone engineered each idea to make it the best solution to a problem. Even though engineer’s goals are similar, there are many different things that engineers do within their selected field of engineering. This paper will focus on the architectural field of engineering.
The book as a description of modern architecture, its styles and influence succeeds but falls short as a prescriptive methodology. His work is still recalled for the need by modernists to categorize everything into neat little boxes, not necessarily for the sake of uniformity, but for sake of some ambiguity. The ambiguity may be the triumph of this book as post modern architecture era is supposed to create more questions than the answers.
What makes modern architecture? Before answering this, one would need to understand what the term “modern” exactly describes. In architecture, modernism is the movement or transition from one period to another, and it is caused by cultural, territorial, and technological changes happening in the world. In Kenneth Frampton’s Modern Architecture: A Critical History, he details these three major societal changes that impact and create modern architecture.