Universal architecture

Ongoing commentary of S. Giedion’s Space, Time and Architecture. 

It’s amazing how Giedion can explain, in only five paragraphs, so much of the true essence of all the great architecture that’s been created over the past 100 years. He describes the molding and shaping and creation of space perhaps more than form. I suspect he would believe form to be too closely associated with style. According to Gideon, style is the enemy. I wholeheartedly agree. Most interesting, (as I’ve said in a previous post he is quite the character) he makes a reference to some architects being creative and others not so much. Although the architectural career should both attract and engender creativity… We know that is not always the case.

Urban Development

Ongoing commentary of S. Giedion’s Space, Time and Architecture. 

Gideon begins this section with the following statement, The future way of life consists in the recovery of the intimacy of life. Apparently, the 1950’s society did not anticipate huge urban development as he purports… having been a contemporary of such events and having written the book in the 1960s. Gideon was quite concerned at the lack of architectural thought and planning that would have ideally been needed prior to the vest development that was going on at the time in which he wrote. It’s interesting to me because I recently learned of Leonardo da Vinci having been an integral player in the planning of the urban development of Milan. I wonder what he would have suggested… No doubt his ideas would’ve been better than what we ended up with.

Signs of the evolving tradition

Giedion talks about how urban architecture and architecture has become intertwined increasingly. Cities are changing.... but ultimately, he asks us the question, How do we wish to live? Philosophical question. This is the exact question homeowners need to answer when contemplating an addition/ renovation/ new build. How much do people settle for? Does anyone have a house they totally adore? How do they solve this question? What do they ask for of their architect? 

Confusion and boredom

Right off the bat, Giedion writes in a scholarly poetic language that gives me the impression his book is dedicated to men; which is, of course both foolish and offensive equally. Nevertheless, he begins by analyzing the decade in which he lived & wrote this book. He was worried about his contemporaries’ ability to continue to produce good architecture. I agree with him that “style” is our enemy. All style with no substance is indeed a bore. Though his book is tied to the 60’s, his opinion is still relevant today. Pretty gutsy to summarize the popular architecture of the current day. What if you get it wrong & totally misrepresent reality?

Space, time and architecture; the growth of a new tradition by Sigfried Gideon.

I was given this book as a graduate student in architecture at The a Ohio State University. Like all of the very best architects.... I, too, am dyslexic & didn’t read it. No time like the present... I plan to read it now & provide commentary. Let’s just say, right now, I believe it to be an overstated book that is hardly relevant in both practical architectural practice as well as in theoretical discourse. I am wholly and entirely disappointed by the majority of books and critical articles I have read to date. So, why am I sitting around and not writing myself... tho I do have nearly 250 published articles thus far.

Architecture Nouvel

One of the lesser known French architects, Jean Nouvel, packs punch after punch in his architecture. A la Monde Arabe a Paris. What a dramatic effect; love it! 

Architecture saves the day

When all of this social distancing is over, there will be a renewed appreciation for all of those glorious social spaces carved out in great works of architecture. Perhaps a better understanding of the importance of spending time together, person-to-person. Perhaps the social media was not really all it was cracked up to be. Nothing can replace a personal relationship. 

Professor Ann Pendleton-Jullian speaks at Knowlton School of Architecture at The Ohio State University

Knowlton School of Architecture; photo credit SAL

It 's hard to begin this post by not showing an image of the exterior of the Knowlton School of Architecture. The School hosts a Baumer Lecture Series both in the Fall & the Spring where many professionals are invited to come and offer cutting-edge lectures about their work & what is going on in the field of architecture.

Pendleton's Images of Guizhou, China

Ann Pendleton-Jullian's lecture was entitled, "new era, new frames," in which she describes what she believes to be the hot issues of our current year of existence/design both in the U.S. and in the World. In particular, I note current issues this "year" because Pendleton made an emphatic statement that the world is changing rapidly.

Pendleton's Image of a home she designed

Pendleton began by discussing the topic of "emergence," She began by describing a bit of what emergence is and then continued to state that planning for a world of emergence now is, what she calls a very "wicked problem." Wicked in the sense that every time you make an effort to solve the problem, the problem itself presents more issues/ and the problem becomes much more complicated.

Images of Pendleton's Numerous Projects

The best description of "emergence" she gave was the idea of the bird murmurings where you see flocks of birds traveling together in a complex, inter-dependent mode. Perhaps interdependency is one of the key topics Pendleton discussed. She showed a student project, that of Tom Brock, where he designed a community that had a set of "rules" that were then applied to the people who lived in the community and to those moving into the community. The most interesting aspect of his rules was that your personal home may or would need to change when your neighbors moved into the vicinity. A radical concept.

Pendleton's Image of Tom Brook's Project Regarding Regional Design & Carbon Capture

When Pendleton talked about emergence, she also noted that this conceptual idea influences a great many parts of our quotidian life. In particular, she observed that "you can now have more agency - you can now be your client." You can be your publisher, realtor, investor, media expert; you name it. The fact that she points this out, to me, is quite significant. We do need to, as architects, look at how roles are changing in our society. We are no longer so dependent on each other as we used to be. Each person has more power to make a change. How do you design for the individual who has more power than ever to map out their destiny?

Pendleton's Image of Tom Brook's Project Regarding Regional Design & Carbon Capture

I loved how Pendleton also talked about the layers of civilization as described by Stewart Brand. It takes a long time for "fashion" to make its way through society to invoke a cultural change. It took a long time for Martin Luther King, Jr. and all those who worked with him to make cultural changes. Perhaps Pendleton brought up this topic because she believes that the successful architect will even be able to make a prediction about what future generations will want/need in a building? If we can see what is going on now on the front lines of research, perhaps we can see what kinds of social change will occur?

Pendleton's Images of Venice & Le Corbusier's Hospital in Venice, designed in part by her late husband, Jullian

Pendleton was married to the late Jullian who was one of Le Corbusier's architects. She talked about how Le Corbusier ingested Venice before he began to design the hospital in Venice. He made numerous sketches, spent lots of time in the city before designing, and even made studies and observations about the lighting in this great city. LC explored the native city planning as well and paid attention to the San Marco Campanile and how it was not axial. LC then patterned his building after the city itself to make the building completely meaningful for the public who would use it later.

Pendleton's Images of bird murmurings about the concept of "emergence."

This blog barely scratches the surface of all that she had to present in approximately an hour and a half at the Knowlton School of Architecture at The Ohio State University. What an excellent addition to the team Pendleton has become for the architecture department.

great adolf loos early modernism examples

Adolf Loos Home by SAL

When Adolf Loos was designing homes and inventing new reasons why society needed Modernism (i.e. his book titled Ornament and Crime), most other designers were regurgitating traditional architectural forms, unlike these Loos examples.

Loos did not begin his career by completely deviating from tradition, but by exploring how he could start to manipulate traditional forms. In the example above, Loos traded out a barrel vault for a pitched roof thereby giving the space inside a greater sky-like expansive ambiance.

The traditional wood lattice-work below would typically have been embedded into the exterior stucco facade material. It is quite elegant how he turned what would have been typically a two-dimensional ornamental detail into a three-dimensional form.

Adolf Loos Home by SAL

Most modernist architects began their alternative architectural style by bending and stretching traditional architectural rules and forms. Have you seen Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris' (Le Corbusier's) first several homes, such as the Villa Fallet in 1906 and the Villa Stotzer in 1908? Or Mies van der Rohe's first several homes, such as the Riehl House in 1907 and the Urbig House in 1917?

As their imaginations and innovative spirits progressed, these modernist architects began to make a clean break away from traditional forms themselves. Lastly, as a new frontier emerged, they developed new styles and theories. Adolf Loos was one of those key players who developed a radical modernism architecture.

I find it fascinating to study the earliest works of these great architectural minds to find clues about how they had always been pushing the boundaries and exploring new ways of manipulating space, objects, materials, etc. Adolf Loos, Le Corbusier, and Mies van der Rohe, among several others, saw every established building tradition as a challenge upon which one could improve.

rooftop gardening in basil, switzerland

Basil, Switzerland by SAL

Gardens and architecture go hand-in-hand. Whether the garden is outside or inside, there is a strong connection between the artificial and natural landscape. In particular, rooftop gardens are one of my most favorite architectural concepts.

A rooftop garden not only improves the psyche, but it also improves the environment. Rather than losing runoff water to the streets and sewers, the rainwater is captured within the soil on the roof.

Heat gain in an urban environment is also reduced by a rooftop garden because solar rays are absorbed rather than reflected. Even more, the roof's insulation factor is about as high as it can be with a rooftop garden, saving a great deal of mechanical heating and cooling energy and associated costs.

Basil, Switzerland by SAL

All of these green building savings and the rooftop garden is still gorgeous. Europeans have an intimate understanding of the flower and farmers markets that frequent many, if not all, of the city centers of each community throughout Europe. With a sophisticated and centuries-old understanding of how the garden fits into the city, it is no wonder that Europeans first developed the rooftop garden.

cutting-edge facades

Cutting-edge facade in Karlsruhe, Germany by SAL

Here are a couple cutting-edge facades that I happened to have walked past in Karlsruhe, Germany. In the top photo, the facade has sun shades that change their angle based on the angle of the sunlight at any particular day and time. The entire year's planned solar angles are built into a computer software program that automatically changes the shades on the facade.

The green architectural benefit to having automatically-adjusted solar shades on the exterior of a building is that the interior spaces can be guarded better from ultraviolet rays that could cause the interior temperatures to rise. Keeping interior temperatures low in the summer and higher naturally in the winter is a passive solar technique that obviously reduces the need for mechanical heating and cooling, thus saving money and environmental resources.

We were able to get a tour of the building, to see the shades from the inside and the outside of the building. We also were able to go and see the computer that controlled the shades. We talked with the German engineer who took care of the building. He said, unfortunately, that there were occasional glitches and that the system still had bugs that needed to be worked out. Yet, we were there in 2001 to tour the building. This technology was superior at the time and still is cutting-edge today.

Cutting-edge facade in Karlsruhe, Germany by SAL

If you cannot go high-tech, then go low-tech and add a screen upon which foliage can grow naturally. The foliage, if it has leaves, then shades the building in the summer. When the leaves fall off in the winter, the building can then be heated a bit by the sun.

Studies show that preventing the summer heat from passing beyond the exterior facade structure is much more effective than stopping the extra heat gain once it has entered the building, i.e. by using interior curtains and ceiling fans for example. Green architectural concepts were not revolutionary in Germany at the time. We are still lagging behind Germany year 2001.

german glass wonders

German Glass Building by SAL

For six weeks, my most beloved professor Jackie Gargus from The Ohio State University took myself and several students all around a good part of germanic Europe. I do not think I am exaggerating when I write that we walked probably for 12 hours a day going from one spectacular site to another as quickly as possible. We often had to run to find a restroom and skipped meals from time to time in pursuit of excellent architecture.

As we walked along quickly, I snapped as many photos as was humanly possible. These two buildings are such random germanic buildings that we walked by quite rapidly. If I knew where they were located, I am not sure it would make much of a difference. These are not particularly on any journalist's radar, but they are stunning nonetheless and this is why I am including them in my blog.

German Glass Building by SAL

I may be so bold as to write that German architects have perfected the use of glass. In fact, I wrote an article for The Architect's Newspaper about the addition to the Cleveland Museum of Art that was designed by Rafael Viñoly. In  my interview with Viñoly's firm, I was told that the team had sourced the new glass enclosure details in Germany.

The glass used at the Cleveland Museum of Art is similar to Sir Norman Foster's British Museum's glass and steel roof structure. In any glass roof structure, the type of glass is carefully selected so that the interior space does not become too overly heated nor too overly sunny. 

The first glass and steel structure in historical records was The Crystal Palace built in 1851 for The World's Fair in London. The architects and engineers did not quite get the glass "right" in that building as a tornado formed within causing a good deal of destruction. We have come a long way since then!

rogue prague modernism, adolf loos, & frank gehry

Prague Modern Building by SAL

Prague hosts many reputable modernist buildings such as Adolf Loos' 1930 Villa Müller and Frank Gehry's 1996 Fred & Ginger modern buildings. Even more, Prague also has some fantastic rogue modernist buildings as seen above. Unfortunately, I do not know the architect nor the year this building above was constructed. I am not even sure it was a building on our "list" of sites to see that day in Prague.

However, is it a coincidence that Frank Gehry has a reputable building in Prague and that he too is a master of deconstructionism? This gorgeous building in the photo above, in fact, reminds me a great deal of Gehry's early work, such as his 1977 Santa Monica home that hurled him into the limelight. In particular, we are talking about the art of deconstructionism. Clearly the building above exhibits some rogue baroque/deconstructionism sensibilities.

The traditional eye window has become much more exaggerated with a sharp eyebrow trim on the top edge and its image again echoed in the side building beyond. Then, part of the facade on the front of the building seems as though it was ripped off to reveal a glass block type window material beneath. I have to say that if I had been given the assignment to design a building that embodies deconstructionism, I would have been certainly proud to have produced an example such as this above.

1930, Adolf Loos, Villa Muller, Prague by SAL

Indeed, Prague is a city of many wonders and hidden treasures. I do not know what it is about the eastern European villages and cities that I have explored, but they have highly creative examples of architectural style and detail. In the photo above, we see an ingenious Adolf Loos detail at the illustrious Villa Müller. This is a patio detail that we do not often see photographed and noted in articles about Villa Müller. Yet, I was struck in particular by the gorgeousness of it.

Loos created a niche in the juncture between the stone patio flooring and the brick wall to allow ivy to grow naturally in a sort of planter. It is really a beautiful, simple detail. We so desperately need architects to be inventive such as Loos was on this patio. Was there any additional money added to the project to produce this detail? No. Was this difficult for the masons to construct? No. It is for those reasons that I love Loos so much. Reinvent! Reinvent indeed!

1432 graz, austria's st. giles' gothic cathedral

Hidden Stairwell at St. Giles' Cathedral, 1438-62, by SAL

I did not intentionally venture to Graz, Austria, but it was on the way between Vienna and Ljubljana, Slovenia. As a result, Graz was one of the places I remember most from one of my architectural study tours through Europe. Graz has a small village and a scenic hill upon which it appeared to me the place where the city began its origins. Graz is definitely worth a day's visit.

Most interesting to me, however, was the St. Giles' Cathedral built between 1438-62 by Friederick III, the first emperor of the House of the Habsburg. Having an undergraduate degree essentially in architecture history and then to have completed a masters in architecture in conjunction with living in France for a year and traveling heavily throughout Europe thereafter, I have seen a lot o gothic structures in many different signature countries including France, England, Italy, Austria, and Germany.

Hidden Stairwell at St. Giles' Cathedral, 1432-68, by SAL

What strikes me most about this particular gothic cathedral in Graz is the fact that it really was built during the gothic period, but completely defies gothic precepts and imagery. I have several photos of this church that I have not yet included on this blog that further illustrate my point. However, for simplicity purposes, let's look at this hidden staircase as an example.

First of all, the designer(s) and mason(s) of this stairwell apparently thought they could achieve one of the most sculpturally-interesting stairwells of all time, but they also thought they could carve stone to make it appear as though it were butter, or, in fact, wood. The details on these stairs are something one would find on a wooden staircase. Wood was historically used in gothic cathedrals for stairways.

The English cathedrals tended to defy gothic architectural standards, which is why English cathedrals can be so interesting. But, in Graz, they take the cake for the highest marks of creativity and ingenuity. If we look at the history of the origins of the germanic people, they have a long history for being expert craftsmen. I am in awe of their craftsmanship shown in this stairwell.

These photos may be a little confusing as well. There were two different entry points at the base of the stairwell. The two paths converge together as shown below, thus making this a highly sculptural structure. I am very happy they did indeed choose stone for this stairwell so we can enjoy it for generations to come.

Lastly, this stone stairwell that is crafted with wooden details reminds me a bit of the Egyptians who built their living city of wood and reeds in stone for the afterlife. Fortunately, we have the Egyptian stone cities as well to enjoy.

Hidden Stairwell at St. Giles' Cathedral, 1432-68, by SAL

jože plečnik's courtyard divine

Plecnik's Courtyard in Ljubljana by SAL

On my last day in Ljubljana, I sat down at this cafe to try to use up the rest of the money I had withdrawn from the ATM, as I stated in the last blog. Unbeknownst to me, I sat within a courtyard that, again, was designed by Jože Plečnik. It was easy to spot his work. As you can see in the background, the oval/pear-type sculptural shapes on the stairs are stone representations of evergreen shrubs. Most architects would focus on the design of the stairs themselves and not spend any time thinking about how those steps should be decorated with objets d'art. Such a fun, wacky design.

Plecnik's Courtyard in Ljubljana by SAL

I don't know about you, but I became mesmerized as I began to explore the courtyard after finishing an incredible meal. The slender spaces decorated with a baroque-type decor in the photo above is divine. It reminds me of images of the legendary Hanging Gardens of Babylon (built by King Nebuchadnezzar II in 600 B.C.). In fact, Plečnik likely did study the Hanging Gardens of Babylon because excavation began in the 19th Century, after which artist renderings became prolific. The most exquisite detail, I believe in this photo are the stone vases encased in the building's facade at the farthest point in the photo.

Plecnik's Courtyard in Ljubljana by SAL

This is a wider view of the building and courtyard including the miniature Hanging Gardens of Babylon to the right and the cafe to the left. I love the play on the Italianate Renaissance Palatial style on the building. Plečnik studied in Vienna with Otto Wagner. Wagner's influence is also apparent in the ornamentality of the building's facade. The calamari I ate that day for lunch was the best I have ever had and the view was more than delightful.

jože plečnik's intellectual style in ljubljana

Plecnik's Sluice Gate, 1939, at Ljublijanica River by SAL

To take classical architectural forms and to play games with the precepts that command their forms is a baroque idea that Jože Plečnik perfected by 1929. My favorite architect of all time has been Le Corbusier since my first year of architectural history studies at Sarah Lawrence College. However, my love for Plečnik's work is taking a close second threatening to overhaul Le Corbusier's throne.

munich pedestrian passageways

Neue Pinakothek (Contemporary Art Museum), renovated in 1981, in Munich by SAL

The dramatic overlay of light coming in through two different sets of windows adds to the gorgeous stairway leading up to the main floor of the Neue Pinakothek in Munich, Germany. (The first level of the building is not used as a museum.) A long, somewhat narrow stairway that has radiating walls, sets up the visitor for a theatrical entrance to the museum. Then, leaving by the same stairway completes and frames the art museum visit experience. The combination of rough-cut versus smooth stone also gives this postmodern entryway another layer of texture emphasized by the natural lighting.

berlin - all of it

Social Housing in Berlin by SAL

Berlin by SAL

On a walking tour through Berlin, we had an opportunity to see many great examples of social housing buildings. It is so nice to see the incredible detail, creativity and care shown in the design and construction of all buildings in Berlin. I do not believe there was a single building that did not have something innovative about it. At a minimum, high levels of technical knowledge were employed for each design. I loved seeing hundreds of examples of fantastic details throughout.

munich olympic stadium

Munich Olympic Stadium by SAL

Munich Olympic Natatorium by SAL

I cannot over-emphasize how enthralled I was when I had a chance to visit the Olympic Stadium complex in Munich, Germany. First of all, the high level of technicalities employed to create the structures was, at the time, far and above anything else like it. Similar to a glass and steel structure, this structure is actually far more complex and is one of the most stunning set of buildings I have ever encountered.

vienna belvedere and conservatory

Vienna Belvedere Garden Structure by SAL

1882 Conservatory in Vienna by SAL

I have paired these two structural photos together, both taken from my collection in Vienna. A glass and steel building constructed in 1882 such as the Conservatory above is one of the earliest examples of modern, industrial architecture constructed shortly after the invention of steel during the Industrial Revolution.