20th Century Architecture

Vladimir Tatlin

Monument to the 3rd International

1919-20wood, iron and glass

Productivism – developed in RussiaAimed to design better environments for human beings- Utopian thinking, using technology to

benefit humans - abandoned abstraction for “functional

art”Commissioned to honor the Russian Revolution – GOVERNMENTAL BUILDING- Glass and iron building, taller than Eiffel TowerSpiral cage with geometric rotating forms in center for various gov’t activities

• Chambers decrease in size as the building ascends

• Reinforces social and political reality

Never was actually built, only exists in models

Gerrit Thomas Rietveld

Schroder House

Utrecht, the Netherlands

1924

• De Stijl Architecture – inspiration by Mondrian (straight lines, primary colors, primary values, geometric shapes)

• Living rooms on 2nd floor, private rooms on ground level • Sliding screens to transform the space • Shifting quality appears in exterior, almost Cubist, moveable panels

Schroder House, interior

Walter Gropius

Bauhaus

Dessau, Germany

1925-26

• The organic shaping of things in accordance with their own current laws, avoids embellishment and whimsy

• Restriction of basic forms and colors: emphasis on typical and universally legible themes

• Simplicity in complexity• Economy in the use of space, materials, time and money

Walter Gropius

Bauhaus

Dessau, Germany

1925-26

Bauhaus: German school of design • Dismantled by Nazi Regime• Hitler quickly shut down the institution after 14 years• Students and professors fled Germany and disseminated Bauhaus aesthetics and ideals • Inspired curricula for many other art schools

Luwig Mies Van Der Rohe

model for a glass skyscraper,

Berlin, Germany1922

• Took over Bauhaus after Gropius left • “less is more” “skin and bones”

architecture • Model for tall glass building (never built)• Three towers, reveals cantilevered interior • Illusion of movement inspired later

architects, especially for skyscrapers

Cantilever = A long projecting beam or girder fixed at only one end

Le Corbusier (Charles Edouard Jeanneret)

Villa Savoye

Poissy-sur-Seine, France1929-30

• Designed functional living spaces, “machines for living” = Corbusier’s philosophy

• Sun, space, vegetation, controlled temp, quiet, insulated

Le Corbusier

Villa Savoye

Poissy-sur-Seine, France1929-30

• Located outside Paris• Living rooms on second floor, bedroom,

storage, garage on first • Open space, strip windows • Ramp leads to roof-terrace and garden

• No traditional façade, must walk around and through house to understand it

Le Corbusier

Villa Savoye

Poissy-sur-Seine, France1929-30

• INVERTED typical design practice • Heavier floor on TOP, negates

solidity • Made possible with ferroconcrete

(steel enforced concrete)

William van Allen

Chrysler Building

New York, New York1928-30

ART DECO• In response to Bauhaus• Favored ornamentation using new materials • Appealed to all art forms: buildings, furniture,

silverware, etc.• Very streamlines, geometric, organic, “aerodynamic”

Chrysler Building Monument of the fabulous 1920sCelebrated the principles and success of American

business…pre-Depression

FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT

• “architecture of democracy”

• Natural, organic, interacts with natural surrounding

• Free open space for free individuals to move through

• Asymmetry • Use of innovative building

techniques: cantilevers

Frank Lloyd Wright

Robie House

Chicago, Illinois1907-09

• “Prairie style” – long, sweeping, ground-hugging lines reflects expansiveness of Midwest flatlands

• No façade• Extended roof overhangs, conceal entrance, “wandering” plan• Sense of space and motion• The interior’s flowing space dictated the placement of external

walls

• Grouped around giant central fireplace

• Every little decorative detail fits in with Wright’s design scheme

Robie House, interior

Frank Lloyd Wright

Robie House

Chicago, Illinois1907-09

Long, “prairie style” design

Frank Lloyd Wright

Kaufmann House (Fallingwater)

Bear Run, Pennsylvania1936-39

• Built as country home of dept store magnate Edgar Kaufmann

• Fluid interplay of interior and exterior• Placed on top of waterfall, hence fallingwater • Incorporates building INTO site• Series of terraces

• Concrete, painted metal and natural stone

• SPACE, not mass. Created space for free movement

• GREATLY influential on European architects