When we view architecture, we usually SPECULATE about concepts, what’s the purpose/idea behind the design. We may not know the designers thoughts, but from the architecture itself, we can speculate about the original thought process. This is what we are doing with the precedent analysis. Thinking about how that building relates to the context and the experience of the designers. Some designers make it easy to interpret the design because they had a clear, strong concept to start with. Architecture is made to challenge the norms and to make you think. The works of certain designers are considered modern because they were ahead of the times. Le Corbusier felt that "it is a question of building which is at the root of social unrest today: architecture or revolution" (Roth 530). They forced people to rethink the rules of design and to think about what’s possible.
To encourage speculation, a space has to have a certain energy that draws people in. Designers employ a variety of techniques to ENERGIZE the space, product, etc. At Fountain Place, the architect used angled sides and a classic tapering ‘wu-wu’ construction to bring energy to the building. Not only is energy created in the building with the oddly shaped floors and angled windows, the city of Dallas itself is energized with the addition of this building to the skyline. The fact that he outside is all reflective glass indicates that a common way to energize architecture is with natural light. Alexander Girard used natural light wherever possible to provide a natural element within his spaces (Massey 150). At the Postal Savings Bank, Wagner brings energy to all the floors through a skylight and glass block floors that filter natural light through all the floors.
We SHAPE ideas, concepts, furniture, and perceptions (among other things). We posses the ability to craft things into what we want them to be. Charles and Ray Eames used a new technique to mold plywood in unconventional ways. The result was the famous Eames chairs that were like nothing else. The same can be said of a lot of modern furniture designs. “New techniques for moulding and glueing plywood had been discovered by American manufacturers during wartime production for the navy and were now exploited for furniture design, as were plastics with fibre-glass reinforcements” (Massey 155). Molded woods and plastics bring a new fluid aesthetic that is unprecedented. The mark of a good designer is to use already available and cmmon materials to create something unique and interesting. One of the reasons I like Fountain Place and the HSB Turning Torso so much is that they use glass, steel, and aluminum to create works like no other.
The way a design or presentation is COMPOSED reflects the original driving concept of the work. Every detail is important and works together to convey an overall idea. A musical composition involves the juxtaposition and layering of parts to create a harmonious whole. This definition of composition carries across disciplines. Designers must take into account the qualities of the individual parts and integrate them into a seamless whole. The Eames’s home “was constructed from industrial components.. that provided an appropriately Modern setting forth their furniture-designs” (Massey 156). Everything from the steel joints and decking kept with the Modern aesthetic. The TWA Terminal is also a great example. Saarinen took everything into account to express the idea of flight. Every single thing, down to the handrails, has a form that speaks to the idea of flight in some way. These parts flow into one another to create a well-integrated design. My goal is to do the same thing in my ‘sacred space’ project.
freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.comDesigners are constantly STRETCHING the limits and thinking outside the box. This is the only way to advance. With the changing times and urbanization, there has been a consistent stretching upwards as skyscrapers become the norm. In some areas, the stretching outward of the prairie and ranch houses provides different emphasis on being connected with the land and staying grounded. There has also been a stretching outward across nations. Movements like the Pop, Modern, International styles are spreading internationally. Modernism became "the appropriate progressive image for multinational corporations" (Massey 145). Designers are no longer reaching backward, but reaching laterally within the same time period to different locations. This brings more similarity across nations, rather than distinctions between regions as in antiquity. The result is more international integration of design.
Overall, this week was about how designs and concepts are formulated. Designers have a clear idea of what they want to convey and how they want the viewer to react. A lot of the modern architecture pushes boundaries and forces us to rethink everything we thought we knew about design. Thinking and speculating is the only way to learn and move forward into the future.
Massey, Anne. (1990). Interior Design of the 20th Century. London: Thames & Hudson
Roth, Leland M. (2007). Understanding Architecture: Its Elements, History, and Meaning. Boulder, CO: Westview Press
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