ARCH162

A School Ahead of its Time Design by Walter Gropius the Bauhaus in Germany Dessau is an outstanding example of the modern movement. Been one of the first schools of design it brought together the most magnificent contemporary architects and artists and an innovative center for training. The name of the school translate to "Construction House" in German which couldn’t have been such a perfect choice. The Bauhaus in Dessau, been the most famous of all the three (others been in Weimar and Berlin) is the product of previous movements such as the arts and crafts movement, with much more emphasis on modern materials such as steel, concrete, and glass [2]. Its intent, according to Gropius was to integrate all of the arts, an integral part of the things of life, necessary for everyone in a civilized society [7]. The Bauhaus is rectangular shaped with a flat-roof structure built on concrete . The exterior walls are mostly taken up by windows, giving the stru...

A CITY ON LEGS . Unite D’ Habitation is a apartment building located in France and built by Le Corbusier in 1952. After world war two europe was still feeling the effects of the war. Many families lost their homes during the war. Corb was commissioned to design a multifamily  apartment building. He was a famous architect, however he had never worked on such a large scale before. Corb would have to design the building to accommodate approximately sixteen hundred people. Most people when given a large space would designed a stretched building, however Corb built a taller more compact building. He had already developed his five points which he used as a outline for all his work. Any observer can notice some of the five points corb uses in all his buildings. The building is lifted onto pilates freeing up the ground floor. There is an open ground floor plan, and a green roof. The building had to have public and private spaces. Th...

Rear Façade Front Façade Villa Tugendhat The Villa Tugendhat was built in 1930, and designed by Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe. It is a three floor Villa situated on a slope, with a concrete wall supporting the street side.   It is made of  steel frame construction, a concrete foundation, reinforced concrete ceilings and floors, and a stucco façade and brick masonry. Steel frame construction was not common for homes at the time, but it allowed for the development of a free plan layout, and varying floor plans for each individual level. The cross-shape profile of the columns were subtle in appearance, placed five meters apart, but held up all the upper levels, by being anchored into the concrete floor and ceiling slabs. Meis’ functionalist concept of iron framework enabled the structure  to be built without load bearing walls,  creating more open and light spaces. Grete & Fritz Tugenhat met Mies in Berlin in 1927, and were a...

VILLA SAVOYE       Designed by Le Corbusier and constructed in 1931, Villa Savoye combined all of his “5 points”. The house has a structural system based on pilotis,   free façade, ribbon windows, a flat roof terrace, and open plan. The opportunity for him to materialize his manifesto in this building transformed Corbusier’s career, and the principles of international style. He describes his view on the function of the home with the phrase “The house is a Machine for Living”. The inspiration for the home was based on the motor car, which he deemed to be technological magic. The movement of the car is interpreted radically for the time, where it arrives under the house, as oppose to an outdoor space. The façade of Villa Savoye is comprised of reinforced concrete and exposed structural supporting pilotis. This combination of materials enabled Corbusier to design the home with a sense of freedom of form, additionally allowing him ...

EXTENSION OF THE SIDEWALK The CBS headquarters in New york is located on the corner of 52nd street and 6th avenue. The building was designed by american - Finnish architect Eero Saarinen and was completed in 1964. Eero Saarinen worked under his father which was also an architect until he won a competition in which he designed the Mississippi arch. This competition allowed him to move from under his father and brought him some fame. He was a modernist architect that designed a variety of building. When given the contract to build the headquarters for CBS in New york it was the height of steel cage office buildings, however Saarinen built the city’s first post war concrete building . During this time steel and glass had become popular. Many buildings tried to be transparent and show both the function and structure of the building.He wanted to move away from glass and have a dense, strong feeling rather than a light transparent structure. The skyscraper is 38 stories tall and made...