New York 1939-1940 - Trylon and Perisphere As the 1939 New York World's Fair was divided into many different thematic zones, its planners wanted a central symbol for this event. The original idea was to have a theme center, with twin 250 feet towers and a semicircular hall to display dioramas. Wallace K. Harrison, a prominent New York architect of the Harrison Fouilhoux firm, was selected to design the theme center in November 1936. Harrison wanted a design that would represent a new architecture concept. In his own words, "we found ourselves constantly referring to the domes and campaniles of Venice, perhaps because the flat country and water of the Fair grounds are very like that of the site of Venice and in addition the sky color of New York is practically the same." (Newhouse,82) The idea of a large dome was a starting point for all further designs, and many different ideas were initially developed. There were plans to use a sphere that was suspended by steel cables, giving it a light, airy feel as well as a large balloon, anchored by steel cables and accessible by elevator. A spherical design was not a new idea, however. An earlier example of such a design was proposed by Etienne-Louis Boullée in his project for Newton's Cenotaph in 1783, featuring a huge sphere at the center. In the end a design that featured a sphere 200 feet in diameter raised on pillars was selected. Despite its huge dimensions, with a 200-foot diameter, it was hard to grasp the exact scale of the sphere. Harrison and his design team finally came up with the idea of using a tall spike to frame the sphere, but there was still the problem of placing the two in relation with each other. They found inspiration from drawings by a Soviet constructivist architect named Jacob Tchernikhov, which represented two large spheres connected to a tall spike by way of a ramp. The final design had emerged. It included the Perisphere, a 200 foot spherical exhibit building, the Trylon, a 700 foot tall three sided obelisk, and the Helicline , a 950 foot circular ramp which connected the two and allowed visitors to exit. However the final dimensions of the building was reduced from the original values to a 180 foot sphere and a 610 foot spike due to budget limitations, which threw off the carefully calculated proportions. The Perisphere was elevated from the ground by five steel pillars, and rested over a large reflecting pool.
One story describes the planning of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair that had been proposed to celebrate the four hundred years since Columbus landed in America. The idea didn’t get much attention until a year earlier, when Paris held a world fair and unveiled the Eiffel Tower. Not to be outdone, America decided now it was a matter of who would hold a fair that would put France’s fair to shame. There was a dilemma of where the fair would be built New York or Chicago, but votes were tallied up and the majority of the vote was Chicago. Among the many architects in Chicago, the main job of the designing the fair was given to Daniel H. Burnham. He needed a companion to help him with the design and other features of the fair, so he chose John Root, a very close friend of his and former associate. Because of the amount of time it took to decide where to build the fair, The White City was believed to be impossible to construct because of time con...
This 11 by 14 inch photogravure of the great Administration Building at the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 was taken from a set of 25 drawings of the exposition buildings. It was the main focus of the fair, and one of the masterpieces of its architect, Richard Morris Hunt (1827-1895). With its fine classical detailing and sweeping scale, this large building was integral to the "White City" concept of the fair. To this day it remains one of the most recognizable landmarks associated with the Columbian Exposition
Many of Frank Gehry’s early works reflect a refined manipulation of shapes and structures, whereby many of his buildings present distorted shapes or apparent structures. From the Guggenheim museum to the Walt Disney concert hall, Frank Gehry’s architecture is close to none. He cleverly plays with shapes and geometries. In this essay, I shall start with a brief analysis of Gehry’s house and the influences in the design of the house. I shall then analyze the extent to which Frank Lloyd Wright has inspired and influenced Gehry in the design of his house through a comparison with Frank Lloyd Wright’s Jacob’s house.
The “White City” was a vast collection of architecture and arts that were put on display in the year 1893. The Chicago World Fair, also called the “White City”, was a major event in American history that impacted America’s culture, economic, and industry. The Chicago World Fair was held to honor Columbus’ discovery of the New World. The real reason why it was made was to proudly have back their wealth and power. Larson said, “the tower not only assured the eternal fame of its designer, Alexandre Gustave Eiffel but also offered graphic proof that France had edged out the United States for dominance in the realm of iron and steel…”(15). To accomplish this, architects led by Daniel Burnham and John Root made numerous buildings and beautiful scenery
During this time period of American history, the country could not have been more contrasting than from 1920 through 1940. The twenties were a period of fun, partying, and economic security hence the term “roaring twenties”. While the nineteen thirties were known as the time of the “Great Depression.” From 1920 to 1940 our country saw five presidents, the first flight around the world, the completion of the worlds largest dam, a depression, prohibition, women given the right to vote, and new musical expressions.
This shows that Rome was the successor of Greek culture and design. It is important to note that Roman culture was known to imitate and copy ancient Greek architectural style. Often for more aesthetic reasons, and not the mathematical or design reasons the Greeks originally saw in their creations (as mentioned above). But this was not the case with the Pantheon. There are many references to geometric shapes (circles and squares) throughout the building. In addition, the dome was created at a height that is a perfect sphere above the ground which was a mathematical and structural
Pantheon and Hagia Sophia Pantheon and Hagia Sophia are two extremely outstanding architectural pieces of their times. They have been built according to the traditions of those particular times. The materials used to built these buildings and the purpose for which they were used are all very important aspects and have been briefly covered in this report. Pantheon The statesman Agrippa built pantheon in 27 B.C. Then it was completely rebuilt by the emperor Hadrian. The Pantheon is remarkable for its size, its construction, and its design. The dome was the largest built until modern times. The present structure was probably originally built as a temple for all the pagan gods. We do hear of it as being a law-court and a reception area for Emperor Hadrian meeting his quests too. Some say that the rotunda of the building was once a Roman bath. Due to all this mystery, the Pantheon is often referred to as the Sphinx of Rome. The visitor will probably not appreciate the construction as much as the Flavian amphitheatre, but it is still a great masterpiece of engineering and well worth a visit. Most Roman and Greek temples at the time of the Pantheon's construction were large, colonnaded, rectangular enclosures with sanctuaries situated in their centers. The Pantheon was different. It consisted of a large circular drum topped with a hemispherical dome. It is a masterpiece of both engineering and art a lasting memory of Ancient Rome’s might. Roman architecture is architecture of wall and enclosed tactile space. Individual column with entablature is no longer the basic architectural unity. Spatially, it shows a development from closed, simple space units and regular articulation to more complex spatial relations, more fluid interpenetrati...
Building the Parthenon was a greater feat than they ever would have known. Work on the Parthenon began in 477 BC. A much smaller shrine already stood on this site, one to which we can attribute various pieces of surviving decorative material--lions and snakes, a cornice incised with flying birds, and a blue-bearded trinity that may conceivably represent Cecrops, Erechtheus, and Poseidon. If such an edifice in fact existed, it was torn down to make way for a huge limestone platform, roughly 252 by 103 feet in size, that was built as a base for the new temple. The slope of the Acropolis was such that while on the north side the foundations rested directly on bedrocks, the southeast corner needed to be built up with no less than twenty-two courses, in order to correct a vertical drop of thirty-five feet. This was only the beginning of the temple. The actual base of the new temple was smaller than the platform, as can be still be clearly seen. The temple itself was Doric, with a peristyle of six columns at each end and sixteen along the sides. Except for the lowest course of the base, the structure was to be built entirely of Pentelic marble.
fairgrounds its image was used repeatedly as a symbol of the Exposition. The Liberty Bell
His design was a Neo-classical plan that followed the classical style of ancient Greece and Rome. He drew a building that consists of two wings that extended north and south of a centural section. A huge cast-iron dome rests on the central section of the building.(World, 196) President Washington was very pleased with Dr. Thorton's plans and he was awarded first prize. Now it was time for Washington to lay the cornerstone on September 18, 1793.(National Park)
New York City has always been an example of how diversity can exist in a successful and peaceful place. Full of action, enthusiasm, and a combination of many cultures, New York is rich in every sense of the word. For example, taking a walk down the busy streets not only opens your eyes to the small but meaningful details of the city and the different people that revive it but also the numerous worlds that are somehow fused in this magical city, like Little Italy, Chinatown, Little Syria, Korea Town, and many others.
Geodesic Dome: The geodesic dome was invented by R. Buckminster Fuller. Around the world, geodesic domes are used, for example, Florida’s infamous Disney World, holds a theme park, namely Epcot. It has an attraction, the Spaceship Earth, and is a geodesic dome. A geodesic dome is essentially a sphere that is hollow, its outside made of triangles. The dome is revolutionary in many ways. For one, it goes against the traditional building style, using triangles rather than rectangles. One of the ways Fuller described the differences in strength between a rectangle and a triangle would be to apply pressure to both structures. The rectangle would fold upon itself, but the triangle withstands the pressure and is much more inflexible compared to the latter. “In fact the triangle is twice as strong. Fuller discovered that if a spherical structure was created from triangles, it would have unparalleled strength due to the fact that all the pressure is being transferred from one triangle to another and then passing it to the ground.” The sphere uses the "doing more with less"”principle that Fuller spent his life pursuing in that it encloses the largest volume of interior space with the least amount of surface area. “Fuller reintroduced the idea that when the sphere's diameter is doubled it will quadruple its square footage and produce eight times the volume.” The spherical structure of a dome is one of the most efficient interior atmospheres for human living quarters because air and
A smaller pool lays adjacent to the building on the opposite side enclosed by a wall of marble. Mies designed the pavilion to blur the lines between inside and outside space. There are parts of the walls that seem to be missing which creates a flow between the two main spaces. The pavilion’s thin sweeping roof is supported by eight cruciform columns clad in chrome. This created an open and free space where he lined the outside of the building with glass. He then carefully placed a thin slab of onyx in the middle of the open volume.
The Step Pyramid was designed by Imhotep, the Chancellor of King Zoser, and was originally planned as a stone mastaba 7.0 meters high based on a square ground-plan (Aldred 45-46). However, this design underwent six alterations, and in its final form the Step Pyramid rose in six unequal steps to a height of 62.
Third, the builders worked with more than 2 million pieces of stone, all of different shapes and sizes. This makes accurate building much more difficult. In spite of this, the upper chamber is perfectly horizontal and vertical up to one