Blog 9: Venturi's Complexity and Contradiction Thesis

I chose 3 different buildings from our walking tours around Baltimore that reflect Venturi's thesis.

The first building is City Hall.

City Hall. It is Bozarth style, borrowing from Classical Greek and Roman orders. It has a mansard roof, arched windows, a cupola, pediment, cacophony of details, Corinthian/Composite columns and is 4 stories tall.

The second building is the BMA.

The BMA is neoclassical with Ionic Columns. We decided it was from Greek revival because of the emphasis of the lintel, but it also had Roman qualities. Other characteristics of this structure include: a pediment with relief sculpture, demi-lune fan like windows above the door, a corseted ceiling, 14 courses of block that gets us to the string course, a peripet wall that extends beyond the roof line, architrave, portico, pilasters and bronze doors.


The third building, a Baltimore night club.

This building is a Baltimore Night Club. It was constructed in 1885 according to what it says on the building. It is Richardsonian Romanesque. But also has Gothic details, with the brown stone. The building has exaggerated windows, 3 bays, 2 roof pinnacles, very thick walls, a cornice and a rusticated first floor.

Blog 8: NYC Trip

What I thought to be the most interesting part of Architecture that we looked at, was the rebuilding of the World Trade Center buildings. Its so crazy that it has already been 10 years since 9/11. But the city of New York is rebuilding at ground zero, and also constructing a memorial in the honor of those who had their lives taken on that day. I did some more research after the trip to see what each building was going to have. Overall there is going to be four towers.

At 1 World Trade Center, the building is going to be 1,776 feet. The actual building will be 1,362 feet, with the illuminated antenna soaring it to 1,776 feet. The design of the new tower evokes classical NY skyscrapers in the elegance and symmetry of it. It also references the design of the Statue of Liberty. It will feature an outdoor observation deck at the height of the original North Tower. In the design of this, they wanted to make sure that the building would be safe. Architect David Childs shrunk the buildings base to 200 square feet and reduced the footprint draws, leaving a larger public area and more room for at-gate security. The building will have a steel frame and a vertical core enveloped by two feet of concrete. It will be among the countries safest skyscrapers.

At Tower two, which is located at 200 Greenwich street just east of the Freedom Tower, will be 1,254 feet (78 stories). The British architect for this building is Lord Norman Foster. This building will have 2.3 million square feet of office space and 143,000 square feet of retail space. Aka: 60 office floors, four trading floors, 11.5 floors of building mechanicals, a sky lobby, and a 65 foot tall entrance lobby. This tower is going to be made of four slim blocks that top off in diamond shapes, creating the illusion of four separate mini towers. The roof of the building will be made of glass and slants upright on the west side of the 59th floor. The roof supports the "wedge of light" concept, which means it casts no shadows on the memorial on the day of September 11 each year. Thats pretty cool!

At Tower Three, on 175 Greenwich, the Group Richard Rogers Partnership were the designers. It has a central position to the memorial site. Its a vertical, 71- story tower, rising to 1,155 above street level. It will include 54 office floors, 2.1 sq feet of office space, and five trading floors.

At Tower Four, located on 150 Greenwich street, it was designed by Maki and Associates. It is a 61 story tower, and will be the fourth tallest of the 4 buildings. Its 947 feet from street level and includes 53 office floors and 2 below grade for retail use. Below story 46, the building has a normal skyscraper floorplan, but above story 46, the building starts to form a trapezoid.

Big thanks to http://www.renewnyc.com/ThePlan/world_trade_center_towers.asp for all this information!

This memorial for the the firefighters that lost their lives was really touching. The carvings were very detailed and cool. I really liked the quote that was written above the mural. May they never be forgotten.

New York Stock Exchange

Wall Street

Mies Building, Seagrams.

Mitsvah Tank! Haha

This sculpture of a teddy bear with a lightbulb, worth entirely too much money.

It was really cool to see all of the skyscrapers in New York, and take in their culture that is very different from ours in Baltimore. I enjoyed people watching and taking the subway everywhere just as much as the architecture.

Had a great trip ! (:

blog 7: Louis Kahn

Some of Kahn's most recognized work includes:
The Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven Connecticut (1951-53)
     subtle, inward looking design, subtle effects of light falling over the triangulated web of the concrete ceiling, direct use of materials, cylinder volume which the stairs were contained in--rose through a series of triangular changes of direction, thus hinting at the architects later tendency to make strong normal distinctions between circulation and "areas served".The exterior--Miesian glass and a steel facade.

The Richards Medical Research Labs at the University of PA (1957)
The Indian Institute of Management
The Salk Biological Sciences in La Jalla CA (1959-65)
The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth Texas (1966-72)
The National Assembly Building in Dacca (1962-75)

Kahn was known as the master of monumentality in the US. He also evolved a philosophy and system of forms extraordinarily well suited to the expression of honorific themes and moods.

He studied under Paul Cret at the Beaux Arts System at Philadelphia. Cret incorporated old lessons as well as noticing the need for new architecture.

He also studied Le Corbusier's Vers une architecture, learned from Sullivan, Wright, and Mies.

He was a slow developer. His house designs of the 40's were mostly unexpceptional extensions of the International style. In the 50's he traveled through Greece and Egypt, and stayed at the American Academy of Rome. During this time his sketchings suggested that he was trying to get back to basics.

MORE TO COME.

Blog 6: Downtown part 2

 

This first skyscraper we looked at was a work by Mies van der Rohe. It is located at One Charles Center. This building is obviously very vertical, as most skyscrapers are, and it has a simplicity to it with the repetition of the dark and intimate individual windows. It is 7 piers deep and 6 piers wide, with a T shaped plan.

Notice the Barcelona chairs in the inside of the lobby.

This is the second building that we looked at. In comparison to the Mies building, the stone work on this building makes it a lot heavier, it looks as though it is being weighed down, and it is also not transparent as the first. This building is Roman, Neoclassical with Ionic columns. This skyscraper is busier and fussier than Mies' and smaller in stories.

This is where the fire started.

During this tour we were looking at the Urban Redevelopment that took place after the fire. 

During this, they wanted to make it easier for pedestrians to walk from building to building.

 

This next building that we looked, the Continental Trust Building, at is 14 stories tall. It is made of block and steel structure clad in masonry. The skyscraper used different orders. The metal, granite, and surface decorations were organic and eye-cndy. They didn't relate to the structure of building or beliefs of Mies van der Rohe and Frank Lloyd Wright.

This building is the Morris Mechanic Theatre and is the closest to Corbusier. It reflects the beliefs of brutalism. It is made of cast concrete and the board forms are not polished out. The building is very playful and the inside is shown to us from the outside. This building is similar to Corbusier's Ronchamp Church shown below.

The opening between these two parts of this building is used for air and light to come in.

Another fun fact: most skyscrapers have a formal and informal facade.

An example in our book I found of a building doing this was the Empire State building. As you can see in the center, there is an opening created to allow air and light to come in.

This is the Bank of America Banking Center. It has a streamline of art deco decoration. In this you can see different types of commerce. For example: medicine and carpentry. The building also has bronzework and a roman facade.

This building is a Baltimore Night Club. It was constructed in 1885 according to what it says on the building. It is Richardsonian Romanesque. It has brown stone detail along with Gothic details. The building has exaggerated windows, 3 bays, 2 roof pinnacles, very thick walls, and a rusticated first floor.

This last building that we looked at is City Hall. It is Bozarth style, borrowing from Greek and Roman orders. It has a mansard roof, cupola, cacophony of details, Corinthian columns and is 4 stories tall.

I found online a picture of City Hall in New York. I find it very similar to the one here in Baltimore, but there are some things that are different.

Blog 5: Chapter 7- Frank Lloyd Wright

MODERN ARCHITECTURE SINCE 1900
Frank Lloyd Wright
Chapter 7

1. I found the "detail" work of the Robie house interesting, how his choices he felt would make the home more unified due to the architectural system requirements of consistent detail. With this he chose to use stained glass windows, and elongated roman bricks. Both with other examples kept the flow of horizontal dominance. I actually read online too that FLW designed a lot of his own interior elements in spaces such as the glass work and furniture.

2. You can see his belief in Organic Architecture in a few of his examples highlighted in the chapter. Organic Architecture promotes harmony between humans and nature through design. Like the Coonley house (1932) and the Martin house (1904). The chapter however doesn't show his best example of this, Fallingwater (1935), which is one of his best known works, and what I personally remember him for.

3. You could also tell his Japanese influences in a lot of his works. The chapter offered examples of japanese prints that his was influenced by. For example the roofs in the Ward Willits house and in the Martin house are fairly similar to the roof in the japanese example of the Ho-ho-den Temple.

Blog 4: Downtown Baltimore & Reading Questions

This is the first building we looked at, the BMA. 

The BMA is neoclassical with Ionic Columns. We decided it was from Greek revival because of the emphasis of the lintel. Other characteristics of this structure include: a pediment with relief sculpture, demi-lune fan like windows, a corseted ceiling, 14 courses of block that gets us to the string course, a peripet wall, and bronze doors.

The second building we looked at was on the same property as the BMA. 

This structure was the Spring House.

Some characteristics of this continuous structure include: Ionic columns, stucco smooth surface, the structure is hidden by a thin skin of concrete, a pediment, a lintel, wave detail, dental moldings, casement windows, and a brick floor on the inside.

This is the third building that we looked at. We decided that this structure was Italianate. Characteristics noted: the sloped roof, the buildings overall heaviness, the use of masonry, arches, the massive wall, its symmetrical demeanor, how it is more animated then the other structures we saw in Glyndon, the coining on the widows and the glazed blonde brick.

This fourth building we looked at was located on the Johns Hopkins Campus, the Charles Carrol Jr Building. Some characteristics we noted about this neoclassical, symmetrical building included: folk columns, paladian windows, stone carved lintels and sills, its one story, fan light above the door and large lintel, it has double hung 6 light windows, and the fact that it is falling apart/under construction.

This building that we looked at is the Walters Art Gallery. We decided it was Italian, and part of the Renaissance Revival. Other characteristics of the two-story building included: 2 string courses, fluted Corinthian columns on the facade, skylights, vaulted front door opening, and its bracketed lintels.

READING QUESTIONS

Modern Architecture since 1900:

1.What does trabeated mean in regards to a "trabeated", rectangular concrete frame construction? (p77)

2.What are/is "grandois axes" regarding French Urbanistic precedents? (p82)

3.Why wasn’t the work of Shindler and Wright not included in the Museum of Modern Architecture Art show of 1932 (p239)

Le Corbusier:

1.What do they mean by "plastic art"?

2.What is the "tracing out of the golden section" that is mentioned (p 72) when talking about rhythms?

3.Why do they keep referring to architects of today as "to-day"?

Blog 3: Glyndon Bank Floor Plan

I chose to make a floor plan based off the Glyndon Bank. This buildings facade is symmetrical. Although it is not a house, I still took some of the visions from the American Women's Home book. Their leading aim was to show how time, labor, and expenses are saved not only in the building but in furniture and its arrangement. I noticed in one of their floor-plans they were cady-cornering furniture so I did that with the sofas in the main office. I also mimicked the floor plan they used for a kitchen in the buildings lounge area. In that I also added the glazed sliding doors, that shut out heat and smells that come from the kitchen.

You can't see it in the birds eye floor-plan, but I also decided to mimic their vision of these arched doors, where pictures could be hung above them as illustration.

In the cubical area I added these moveable screens to give privacy to each desk in the area. The screens must be so high to reach the ceiling to prevent from overturning

Blog 2: Walking Tour of Glyndon

This First building we looked at is an old Post Office. Some characteristics of the building we noted from our field guide included: the building is not symmetrical, it has flared eaves, smooth brick, its overall horizontal, it is a shingle style building, it has a sloped roof with a hip along, the roof is made of slate, it has decorative graphics, it has a porte-coche (aka the porch) and it has a weathervane on top.

This is the second building that we looked at. From our field guide, we decided that this was a Victorian Home. Other characteristics we noted included: it has squared columns, it has a standing seam roof that is mansard, it has dormer windows, some of those windows are floor to ceiling, it has double hung windows with 4 lights, it has transom windows with 2 lights, it has a Queen Ann porch, and its a vertical style home. 

This is the third building we looked at. From our field guide we decided it was a Neoclassical piece of architecture. It is Italian, and from the Early Romantic period. Also noted: it has a gentle holden cornice, it is symmetrical, it has a fan light in the center, the silhouette is blocked, it has a demi-loon half circle, it has a arched lintel, it has keystone on the lintels on all sides, and it has a brick detailed facade called coining.

This is another building that we discussed. We decided that is was built around the 1850's, it was Romantic, and part of the Gothic Revival. We also noticed the right side of the house, and came to the conclusion that it was probably an addition because of the 2nd story windows on the left facade not being a whole story. Also noted: it has bay windows bumping out of the facade and it is overall a horizontal layout.

This is another home that we looked at on the walking tour. We decided that it was possibly built between the 1940's and 50's. Parts of this home were Neogothic and parts were Victorian. Also noted: it has pointed shutters, asphalt shingles, case windows, and those case windows had pediments on them.