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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...

PENTHOUSE AT 23 BEEKMAN PLACE The penthouse at 23 Beekman Place in upper Manhattan, NY, was rented by Paul Rudolph in 1965. He purchased the entire building in 1976 and began renovated the entire structure from top to bottom. He remodeled the façade using materials such as glass, concrete and steel. The area that the building was located in was mainly   residential, with mostly low-height buildings. With minimal interference on the views, Rudolph decided to create a structure that would frame the spectacular views across the city to the west and to the river to the east. Using concrete and a steel system, he was able to design an extension that cantilevered the penthouse on the front and back of the building, with openings on top and views from all sides. Paul Rudolph was a dedicated modernist. He explored abstract space and experimented with industrial processes and materials. The structure was renovated in a concrete and steel framed system...

View from Street The Palais Stoclet designed by Josef Hoffmann in 1905 for the Belgian banker Adolphe Stoclet in Brussels is a total work of art. The project is part of the “Vienna Secession movement (which) bears witness to a profound conceptual and stylistic renewal of Art Nouveau.”(1) The total work of art (Gesamtkunstwerk) refers to everything, the furniture, the materials, every space, every garden, and every view from each space. It may not seem that way from the street, as you are greeted by a gray façade which is hidden behind tall hedges. It’s exterior gives a sense of inward focus as the windows are placed only where there is not much of a view, and seem to only exist for the purpose of allowing light to enter. The decorative copper elements including the four men, the homes tower, and other smaller decorative roofing elements have now patinaed and add a luxuriously artistic detail to the exterior. On the interior the amalgamation of geometry is everywhere, but allows...