POST-MODERN ARCHITECTURE

History of Architecture-

IIIClass - 1

Prepared By-Alemayehu W.

WOLLO UNIVERSITYDepartment Of

Architecture

IntroductionPostmodernism – international architectural movement that emerged in the 1960s, became prominent in the late 1970s and 80s, and remained a dominant force in the 1990s.

Rejection of strict rules set by the early modernists and seeks high spirits in the use of building techniques, angles, and stylistic references

Postmodernist movement is often seen as an American movement, starting in USA around the 1960s–1970s and then spreading to Europe and the rest of the worldThe movement largely has been a reaction against the austerity, simplicity and functional design approach of the modern architecture/international style

Portland Public Services Building, 1982.Michael Graves,

IntroductionThe aims of Postmodernism or Late-modernism begin with its reaction to Modernism; it tries to address the limitations of its predecessor. The list of aims is extended to include communicating ideas with the public often in a witty way. The communication is done by quoting extensively from past architectural styles, often many at once. In breaking away from modernism, it also strives to produce buildings that are sensitive to the context within which they are built.Postmodernism has its origins in the perceived failure of Modern Architecture; its preoccupation with functionalism and economical building which failed to meet the human need for comfort both for body and for the eye. In response, postmodern architects sought to reintroduce ornament, color, decoration and human scale to buildings. Form was no longer to be defined solely by its functional requirements or minimal appearance.

Portland Public Services Building, 1982.

CHARACTERISTICS OF POSTMODERNISM

Postmodern Architecture rejects the notion of “pure” or “perfect” form, instead it draws from: all methods, materials, forms, & colours available to architects. Moves away from the neutral white colours seen in modernism

the return of "wit, ornament and reference" to architecture

Team Disney – The Eisner Building, 1991 Michael Graves,

Took past components of different styles and melded them together to create new means of design. It is known for the re-emergence of surface ornament, reference to its surrounding buildings, and historical references.

revival of traditional elements and techniques. Post modernists looked into past architecture in order to learn from it. Classical designs such as pillars, arches, and domes used in new, almost humorous ways, just to send a message to the modernist people. It favoured personal preferences and variety over objective truths and principles!

Piazza d’Italia, New Orleans, 1976-1980.

CHARLES MOORE,

CHARACTERISTICS OF POSTMODERNISM

sensitivity to the building’s context, history and the client’s requirements

physical characteristics- the use of sculptural forms, ornaments and anthropomorphism conceptual characteristics - pluralism, double coding, high ceilings, irony, paradox & contextualism

Used classical styles in new combinations: pillars, arches, domes, curtain wall facades, sculptures and roman conventions

Bank of America Center in Houston, by John Burgee and Philip Johnson, completed 1983

Used classical styles in new combinations: pillars, arches, domes, curtain wall facades, sculptures and roman conventions

Used classical styles in new combinations: pillars, arches, domes, curtain wall facades, sculptures and roman conventions

Similar to old cathedrals, draws the eye upwards toward the sky

Reconciled differences between old and new generations (culture wars) Postmodern architecture takes old styles and updates them

Reconciled differences between old and new generations (culture wars) Postmodern architecture takes old styles and updates them

Vanna Venturi House, Robert Venturi

Pioneers of the Movement

Pioneers of the Movement

Robert Venturi  

Philip Johnson

Michael Graves

Vanna Venturi House

Team Disney – The Eisner Building

AT & T Building( Sony building)

Example

Phillip Johnson in 1978 with model of AT&T building

AT & T BuildingPhillip Johnson

Phillip Johnson helped Mies van der Rohe design the Seagram Building in the 1950s, but in the ’70s he did the opposite with the AT&T Building (now called the Sony Building)

Example

Instead of a building made of sleek glass and metal, this building is predominantly masonry (only 30% of the outside is glass) and revives a classical architectural vocabulary…

Johnson & his associates divided the building into three parts, reminiscent of the three elevations of a Greek temple – base, column and pediment.

Phillip Johnson, the AT&T Building (New York), 1984. POSTMODERN

Example

The top slopes down like a pediment, including a space in the middle known as an orbiculum (similar to the look of 18th century dressers)

Phillip Johnson, the AT&T Building (New York), 1984. POSTMODERN

Thin strips of masonry that make up the center resembles the fluting of columns

Example

The entrance includes a massive round arch, similar to a triumphal arch or a Romanesque portal.

Modernism Vs Post-Modernism

Modernist architects may regard postmodern buildings as vulgar

Postmodern architects may regard many modern buildings as soulless and bland

Le Corbusier. Villa Savoye1928-1929. Poissy, France

Modernism Vs Post-Modernism

Flat Roofs Gable Roofs

Modernism Vs Post-Modernism

No colors used Colors come back to the facade

Le Corbusier, Chapel of NôtreDame du Haut, 1955

Modernism Vs Post-Modernism

Postmodernist building were a stack of varied design elements for a single vocabulary from ground level to the top, ( "wedding cake" design).

Modernist high-rise buildings had become monolithic.Seagram Building,New York,Ludwig Mies van Der Rohe, 1957

Modernism Vs Post-Modernism

Double Coding Single Coding

Conclusion

Pre-modern Architecture

Modern Architecture

Post-modern Architecture