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Sulaiman Bin Ahmed  Extra Credit Falling Water Falling water house was designed in 1935 by a renowned American architect named Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959). Falling water is located in the mountains of south western Pennsylvania, also known as the Laurel Highlands, in Mill Run, Pennsylvania. in Fayette County, and a distance of about 70 miles east of Pittsburgh. In this location i.e. In Mill Run, Pennsylvania in the Bear Run Nature Reserve, the stream flows at 1298 feet above sea level and suddenly breaks to fall at 30 feet. The building is one of Wright’s most widely acclaimed works which best exemplifies his philosophy of organic architecture: the harmonious union of art and nature. Falling water house was designed for the family of Pittsburgh department store owner, Edgar J. Kaufmann, Sr. as a private residence and weekend home. The Kaufmann family, Edgar J. Kaufmann, Sr. (1885-1955), Liliane S. Kaufmann (1889-1952), and their son, Edgar Kaufmann jr. (1910-1989), owned...

Sulaiman Bin Ahmed Extra Credit  Seagram Building Seagram Building is designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and ex-MoMA staffer and architect Philip Johnson. The landmark skyscraper is located on Park Avenue between 52nd and 53rd streets in mid-town Manhattan (375 Park Avenue New York, New York 10022) and it is often loftily hailed as a precedent-setting structure for modern corporate architecture in New York City. The building's particular conception and construction were largely driven by the idealistic, principled visions of Phyllis Lambert, daughter of Seagram's founder Samuel Bronfman. The skyscraper was originally designed as the headquarters for Joseph E. Seagram’s & Sons, and was Mies’ first tall office building project. The building is Characterised by sleek glass and metal, rather than the ornamental heavy stone and brick facades of previous decades, the Seagram Building signalled a new era of functional skyscraper, adopting a minimalist corporate aestheti...

House E-1027 is a villa that was designed by architect Eileen Gray. This house was considered one of Gray’s most significant works because the design of the house was able to show the difference between decoration and architecture. The name E-1027 was actually a code for Eileen Gray and her lover, Jean Badovici. The E stood for Eileen, 10 stood for Jean, 2 stood for Badovici, and 7 stood for Gray. The numbers stood for the numeric placement of the letters in the alphabet (i.e. J is the 10th letter in the alphabet). The construction of the house completed in 1929, which means Gray was 51 years old at the time. Gray wanted this house to be a sort of place for romantic getaway, but Gray and Badovici were never able to agree on what to do. The space was designed in a way that would resemble how people living inside would move in the space. Inside the house, Gray put built-in cabinets, drawers, guest rooms, and other spaces that allowed privacy. In addition, there were little windows th...

Stuart Jacome Arch 211- M11 Prof. Khorsandi Blog Post Villa Muller The Villa Muller was designed by famous architect Adolf Loos. The architect was commissioned to do this project by civil engineer and building contractor, Frantisek Muller.  The Villa was built in Prague, in Czech Republic 1928-30. This house is a prime example of early modern architecture and the use of raumplan. Raumplan is a planning method which is based on isolated rooms that are dynamic in section. The method emphasizes the scale each room and often times they are at different levels, therefore steps are required to access them.  The concept of the villa was to express Loos’ ideas of economy and functionality. Raumplan is spatial and clearly shown in Villa Muller through multi-level parts of each room; which hit at their importance, functionality, and symbolism. In contrast to Wright, Loos wanted to keep the public outside and private inside completely separate. Loos believed that the bui...

Stuart Jacome Arch 211- M11 Prof. Khorsandi Blog Post Vienna Opera House The opera house was the first major building on the Vienna Ringstrasse commissioned by the Viennese "city expansion fund".  Built in an impressive Neo-Renaissance style to demonstrate the emergence of its art, construction was started in 1861 and was completed in 1869 the plans for this structure were created by architects August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Nüll . T he public was far from satisfied with the design of this focal point of the new Vienna; they believed it to be too grand, even if this is difficult to envision for any modern guest of the opera house. This hostile opinion was at partially due to the fact that the level of the Ringstraße was raised by one meter, giving the building a feel as if it was sinking. Throughout World War One the building remained unharmed, but unfortunately in the second World War due to bombing and fire the auditorium and stage wer...

Stuart Jacome Arch 221- M11 Prof. Khorsandi Blog Post TWA Flight Center The TWA Flight Center is located in Jamaica, Queens, USA; Part of John F. Kennedy international airport. Designed by Eero Saarinen and completed in 1962; this building has a futurist, modern style. Originally commissioned in 1956, this structure is meant to “capture the spirit of flight”. To capture this concept, Saarinen uses curves along the edges of the building which connect in the middle. From a bird's eye view the terminal appears to have two massive wings; imitating wings of a jet plane or a bird in flight. The exterior facade of the building has continuous curvature elements which move inward. So that the ceiling turns into a wall and the wall becomes the ground. There are four volumes which extrude outward from the center creating the wings. The spaces inside the terminal are open; all of the walls and elements are organic with different shapes and curves so that individuals could experienc...

Stuart Jacome Arch. 211 M-11 Prof. Khorsandi Blog Post St. Peter’s Basilica St. Peter's Basilica is an Italian renaissance church in Vatican City was built according to tradition is above the burial site of St. Peter. The church is one of four major basilicas of rome but St.Peters has the largest dome in the world and is regarded as the greatest building in its age. The basilica was designed as a replacement for the old constantinian church and was commissioned by Pope Julius ll; the construction of the Basilica began on April 18 th 1506 and was completed on November 18 th 1626.Designed principally by Donato Bramante and later Continued by Michelangelo but finished by Giacomo Della Porta.  Saint Peter’s Basilica is built out of travertine stone and is 452 feet high, 730 feet in length, and 500 feet in width and large enough for 60,000 people. This plan was to have the basilica have a long axis that moves attention towards the altar giving it a sense of practicality ...