ARCH162

TWA Terminal  The TWA flight center (the Trans World Flight Center) was designed by Eero Saarinen in 1962 and is a great example of Futurist architecture and modern architecture. The TWA terminal was a major milestone in the improvement and development of air travel. There has always been a feeling of excitement when one is to travel by airplane. Eero Saarinen aimed to capture each and every aspect that makes air travel so sensational, throughout the buildings design to the flight itself. It is as if he wanted a persons experiential journey to begin before they even set foot on the airplane itself. The structure of the building itself becomes symbolic as one would approach this “monument to airline travel”. The large wing-like concrete shell resembles the wings of an airplane. This building is another great example of the implementation of concrete into building designs following World War two. The wing like structure shows just what exactly concrete is capable of. The mat...

La Tourette Located in Lyon, France, Sainte Marie de La Tourette (La Tourette) is a Dominican order priory and is a well developed example of brutalist architecture, modern architecture, and the international style. Completed in 1957, La Tourette is the last building that Le Corbusier designed in Europe. The building was designed to be a “self-contained world” for a large community of silent monks. This contained world had a hundred individual living cells for the monks, a communal library, a refectory, a rooftop cloister, a church, and classrooms. All five of Le Corbusier’s self identifiable key elements of architecture (the five points of architecture) are present in the modernist styling of the convent of La Tourette. The ground pilots are the most apparent to the buildings viewer since La Tourette has a very internally developed program. The building site was picked by Le Corbusier, he placed the building on a very downward sloped site to take advantage of the magnificent sce...

Ronchamp Notre Dame du Haut (Ronchamp) is a Roman Catholic chapel in Ronchamp, France. Designed by Le Corbusier. Built in 1955, Ronchamp is a great and important example of modern architecture. It is a twelfth century example of both Franco-Swiss and religious architecture. Unlike many of other Le Corbusier’s designs which are orthogonal, functional, box like structures, Ronchamp comes across as an irregular piece. The building itself stylistically becomes very interesting and complex with many different architectural design elements coming together to create this almost sculptural like structure, when in fact the buildings program is relatively simple only containing two entrances, three chapels, and an alter. Le Corbusier imagined the spaces within the building as “meditative and reflective in purpose”. This was encouraged through the buildings natural lighting design. “Random” placement of windows all over the buildings facade are tapered into the wall cavities in order to amp...

Falling Water Falling Water is located in Pennsylvania and was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Completed in 1964, Falling water is an excellent example of organic/modern architecture. This residence was designed for the Kaufmann family after the son developed a friendship with Frank Lloyd Wright while attending his school. The family imagined a home facing the waterfall so that they could view it every day. However, Frank Lloyd Wright envisioned the house integrating with the waterfall itself. He planned on doing this by placing the house onto of the waterfall in order to have it become a part of the Kaufmann family’s lives. Wright always had a great admiration for Japanese architecture which had a strong belief in strengthening the harmony between man and nature. By placing the building on top of the waterfall, it becomes dominant in the house through sound and feeling rather than sight. The waterfall is constantly crashing just below the summer home, echoing the sound througho...

Unite d’Habitation Unite d’Habitation is a residential housing complex located in Marseille, France designed by Le Corbusier and is a great example of Brutalist Architecture. The building was completed in 1952 and contained 337 housing units amongst 18 floors holding over 1600 residents. The building was designed to accommodate those who lost their homes during World War two. The material choice of this building was very important to the design, it was built with reinforced beton-brut concrete (rough cast concrete), the material was relatively cheap in post-war Europe and reflected the character of life following World War two, rough, worn, as well as unforgiving. Before Unite d’Habitation Le Corbusier had not designed on a large building scale. So, he sought out to see if he could implement his five points of architecture into the design. He used pilots to lift the building and allow a public flow on the ground floor level incorporating his idea of the “free plan”. Le Corbusier ...

Phalanstère A Phalanstère was a type of building designed for a self contained utopian community, it ideally consisted of 500-1200 people working for a mutual benefit, and was developed in the early nineteenth century by a man named Charles Fourier. Fourier was a French socialist who wanted to develop an architectural system based off of principles of sexual liberation, co-operative organization, women’s liberation, and human interaction. He envisioned a U-shaped building with wings on either side of the structure, large meeting rooms, private rooms and gardens. Fourier was not a fan of industrialization and free market, he felt that it developed workers exploration. Fourier wanted “to return to the land and agriculture and he proposed the creation of an ideal community called phalanstère .” The idea behind his proposal was that members would receive shares in relation with the production they provided to the community, and it would be ruler in a democratic way. More activity ...

Altes Museum The Altes Museum is located in Berlin, Germany built between 1823 and 1830, it was  designed by an architect named Karl Friedrich Schinkel, "the site required a very monumental building. Therefore I preferred one giant order rather than two individual expressions for the two main stories....The building surrounded on all sides by the Ionic entablature or the Ionic columnar hall, with Ionic pilasters at the four corners, forms a simple yet grand main structure into which the two floors are inserted in a subordinate manner”. The building was originally built as a place for the Prussian royal family (or just Berlin in general) to store their art collection but served as a contemporary art museum under the GDR (German Democratic Republic) as well. The building became a key example in the development of museum typologies. Before this building came about, the architectural elements in this structure were only really used (reserved for) buildings of more importance su...

Buckingham Palace The Neoclassical movement emerged as a revival of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The movement came across as a kind of “back to the basics” mindset throughout European countries such as France, Italy, and Germany. Before the movement, Baroque architecture was in high demand. Big ornamental, unnecessarily decorated interiors and exteriors of buildings were popping up all over Europe. However, Baroque architecture never really appealed to the United Kingdom, so Neoclassicism in England was a bit different throughout the rest of Europe. In England, the revival of Greek and Roman architecture resulted in many governmental buildings resembling big temple like structures. The United Kingdom has always had a habit of wanting to be the best of the best. One of the most successful places full of rich beautiful architecture was the Roman Empire. The United Kingdom thought that, they could in fact be the new modern Roman Empire by implementing their architectural i...

Royal Saltworks at Arc-et-Senans The Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans was the first real accomplishment of industrial architecture. It was built and designed by Claude Nicolas Ledoux. His idea behind his design was, “Harmony of the surroundings and the symbolic found in the composition of the ensemble was aimed to shape a society that elevates the soul of its people, creating virtue and collective happiness, while maintaining work as the ultimate value at the centre.” Construction started in 1775 during the reign of Louis XVI The complex was active for at least 1200 years (1780-1962).  The complex takes on the shape of a semi circle and was designed in a way to organize work and ultimately the production. The industrial complex includes eleven buildings, five workshops and housing units for workers all organized in a semi circle layout around the House of the Director. When Claude Nicolas Ledoux was captured and taken prisoner during the revolution, he spent his time envision...

Casino at Marino A folly building is described as an ornamental building without any functional use despite its appearance. One of the most well known folly buildings, is The Casino at Marino, located in Marino, Dublin Ireland. The building was designed by a Scottish architect named Sir William Chambers. The building began construction in the late 1750s and was completed around 1775. This is one of the most well known 18th century Neo-Classical buildings in Europe. The Neo-classical movement followed the Rococo and Baroque movement, and came as a way of reintroducing new found Greek and Roman architectural styles into modern day works throughout the world.  The “Casino” means , small house, and is not an establishment designed for gambling. The buildings appearance makes it appear as if it is a small single roomed building, when in fact the interior is quite large containing 16 very decorated and ornamental rooms, such as, kitchens, servants quarters, a library, and several...