建筑十日谈

Saturday, June 9, 2007

Architecture & Advertising Day No. 4

It has been a long time since the last post of my Blog --- 建筑十日谈，which actually means "To Talk about Architecture Topics in Ten Days" in English. During the long time's break, I decided to travel from 20th century's China back to 1950's USA. Here on Day No. 4 --- I would like to talk about two famous "Glass Houses" in Architecture history, therefore to introduce you another two Architects --- Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe and Philip Johnson.

Welcome to the Day No. 4.

Farnsworth House
Architect: Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe (1886 - 1969)

The Farnsworth House, designed and constructed by Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe between 1945-51, is a one-room weekend retreat in a once-rural setting, located 55 miles southwest of Chicago. The steel and glass house was commissioned by Dr. Edith Farnsworth, a prominent Chicago-based kidney specialist, as a place where she could enjoy nature and engage in her hobby, translating poetry. Mies created for her a 1,400 square foot house that is widely recognized as a masterpiece of modernist architecture. The home was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006, after joining the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.

The essential characteristics of the house are immediately apparent. The extensive use of clear floor-to-ceiling glass opens the interior to its natural surroundings to an unprecedented degree. The simple rectilinear form is barely defined by exposed steel structural members painted pure white. The house is elevated and seems to float weightlessly above the ground it occupies. The interior appears to be a single open space, free of interior supports, ebbing and flowing around two wood-clad boxes; one a wardrobe closet and the other a fireplace core enclosing toilets and mechanical equipment. The house is essentially one large room with a freestanding wardrobe and a central fireplace core that provide subtle differentiation between open spaces. Very private areas such as toilets, and mechanical rooms are enclosed within the core. The free flow of space around the interior elements is a key feature of Mies efforts to express his ideas.

The house is located on a 60 acre estate site adjoining the Fox River (Illinois) near the city of Plano, Illinois. Mies conceived the building as an architectural shelter simultaneously independent of and intertwined with nature. Mies did not build on the upland or sloped portions of the site, choosing instead to tempt nature by building on the flood plain near the rivers edge. The enclosed space and a screened porch are elevated five feet on a raised floor platform, just slightly above the 100 year flood level, with a large intermediate terrace level. The levels of the platforms restate the multiple levels of the site, in a kind of poetic architectural rhyme. The house is anchored to the site in the cooling shadow of a large and majestic maple tree. As Mies often did, the entrance is located on the sunny side facing the river, forcing visitors to turn corners and view the house from various angles when approaching the house. The simple elongated cubic form of the house is arranged parallel to the flow of the river, and the terrace platform is slipped downstream in relation to the elevated living platform. The careful site design and integration of the exterior environment represents a subtle yet concerted effort to achieve an architecture wedded to its context.

The Architect and his works:

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies) ( March 27, 1886 - August 17, 1969 ) was a German architect.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, along with Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier, is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modern architecture. Mies, like many of his post WWI contemporaries, sought to establish a new architectural style that could represent modern times just as Classical and Gothic did for their own eras. He created an influential Twentieth-Century architectural style, stated with extreme clarity and simplicity. His mature buildings made use of modern materials such as industrial steel and plate glass to define austere but elegant spaces. He developed the use of exposed steel structure and glass to enclose and define space, striving for an architecture with a minimal framework of structural order balanced against the implied freedom of open space. He called his buildings "skin and bones" architecture. He sought a rational approach that would guide the creative process of architectural design, and is known for his use of the aphorisms “Less is more” and "God is in the details".

Philip Johnson

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Architecture & Advertising Day No. 3.5

Architecture & Advertising Day No. 3

Here we go, it is the third day of writing my Blog --- 建筑十日谈, which actually means "To Talk about Architecture Topics in Ten Days" in English. Now, I would like to bring you to my home --- China, as I promised, therefore to introduce you an interesting architecture office which owned by a Tawanese-born, self-educated Architect --- Deng Kun Yan, and two pieces of his works, which are his office in Shanghai and office in Taiwan.

Deng Kun Yan Taipei Office (1997)
Architect: Deng kun Yan

Deng Kun Yan Shanghai Office
Da Yang / Su Zhou River 1305 (1999)
Architect: Deng kun Yan

The Architect and his works

Background Informations:

Suzhou Riverside in Shanghai: A Chinese Soho for Artists

Suzhou River, once a river stank for 80 years in the urban area of Shanghai, has been cleaned up again thanks to government efforts. With its natural beauty now the river is a haven for artists and even attracts many real-estate developers.

Deserted warehouses

The antique buildings along the Suzhou River in central Shanghai stand in stark contrast to Shanghai's image as a hip international city.

Most of them are deserted warehouses and workshops that date back to the 1930s, when the Suzhou River nurtured a major industrial base in Shanghai.

When the manufacturing industries withdrew from the city proper amid the urbanization drive, the riverside grew into a haven for artists, many of whom have opened studios and galleries in the abandoned buildings out of their deep affection for the river.

A haven for inspiration

Deng Kunyan, a designer from Taiwan, opened a studio in a two-story warehouse on the riverbank in 1998. Filled with old-style rosewood furniture and modern personal computers, his studio overlooks the Suzhou River, and the chugging of tugboats can be heard from time to time.

As one of the earliest settlers, Deng is confident that the riverside will prosper as a haven for artists, "just like Soho village for artists in New York, and the left bank of the River Seine in France," Deng told Xinhua in an interview.

The riverside has drawn crowds of artists during the past three years for the low rent, quietness, and aura of river history.

"This is a perfect place for artistic creation," said Ding Yi, an artist.

Liu Jidong, a designer, called his riverside studio "a deep well" where inspiration takes shape.

Liu's studio is in a warehouse that withstood a major battle in1937, when the Chinese fought tenaciously against the invading Japanese troops. The original bronze gates are still there, along with other remnants of history such as bullet holes and door numbers painted in white color.

Cleaned up by government

In addition to its natural appeal for artists, the Suzhou Riverside has turned into a prime development destination for many businesses.

The intensified efforts of the municipal government to clean up the Suzhou River, which was once seriously polluted, have drawn many real estate developers. Over ten residential areas are being built on the riverbank and "a bird's eye view of the river" is the selling point for most of them.

"Excess renovation work will deprive the riverside of its antiquity and consequently scare away the artists with gaudy buildings and high rents," said Li Liang, manager of an art gallery in Shanghai.

Whether the dream for a Chinese Soho in Suzhou River will come true or not, the use of empty warehouses for artistic creation and display has been widely applauded by artists as well as the average citizens in Shanghai.

Literature and related Links:

Saturday, May 19, 2007

Architecture & Advertising Day No. 2.5

Right now, it is still inbetween my second and third day of writing my Blog --- 建筑十日谈, which actually means "To Talk about Architecture Topics in Ten Days" in English. Now, I would like to bring you to my home --- China, therefore to introduce you an interesting architecture office which owned by a Tawanese-born, another self-educated Architect --- Deng Kun Yan, and two pieces of his works, which are, his office in Shanghai and office in Taiwan.

But first I would like to show you something not really related with architecture, but Chinese culture. Simply because we are still on the way to the Day No. 3.

Welcome to China!

Architecture & Advertising Day No. 2

It is my second day of writing my Blog --- 建筑十日谈, which actually means "To Talk about Architecture Topics in Ten Days" in English. I would like to start this time with an interesting articles about a Japanese-born, self-educated Architect --- Tadao Ando and two of his master pieces, namely, the Church of Light and the Church of Water.

Church of Light (Ibaraki Kasugaoka Kyokai Church),
Architect: Tadao Ando (1941 - Today)

Located in a quiet residential neighborhood in the suburbs of Osaka, the small Christian church made of silky smooth concrete sits modestly within its environment. The communal church consists of two rectangular volumes that are both cut at a 15 degree angles by freestanding concrete walls. One indirectly enters the church by slipping between the two volumes, one that contains the Sunday school and the other that contains the worship hall.

The space of the chapel is defined by light, by the strong contrast between light and shadow. In the chapel light enters from behind the altar, from a cruciform cut in the concrete wall that extends vertically from floor to ceiling and horizontally from wall to wall, aligning perfectly with the joints in the concrete. From this cruciform shape an abstract and universal light seems to be floating on the concrete wall, its rays extending and receding over time with the movement of the sun. Light is also permitted to seep into the interior from the slicing of the volume by the freestanding concrete wall. The darkness of the chapel is further accentuated by the dark and rough-textured wood of the floor planks and the pews which are built out of reused wood used during construction as scaffolding.

In contrast to the darkness of the chapel the interior of the Sunday school is built of lighter colored wood with a smooth surface. The volume of the Sunday school opens up to a double height space with a mezzanine level that contains a small kitchen, bench and table which are used for congregation gatherings.

The volume containing the Sunday school also has light that penetrates the space through the slicing of the volume by the freestanding concrete wall. The space comes alive not only with ever changing light but also through the voices of children singing, sounds of the piano, adults enjoying a meal of soba noodles after Sunday worship and laughter.

"In all my works, light is an important controlling factor," says Tadao Ando. "I create enclosed spaces mainly by means of thick concrete walls. The primary reason is to create a place for the individual, a zone for oneself within society. When the external factors of a city's environment require the wall to be without openings, the interior must be especially full and satisfying."

And further on the subject of walls, Ando writes, "At times walls manifest a power that borders on the violent. They have the power to divide space, transfigure place, and create new domains. Walls are the most basic elements of architecture, but they can also be the most enriching."

Ando continues, "Such things as light and wind only have meaning when they are introduced inside a house in a form cut off from the outside world. I create architectural order on the basis of geometry squares, circles, triangles and rectangles. I try to use forces in the area where I am building, to restore the unity between house and nature (light and wind) that was lost in the process of modernizing Japanese houses during the rapid growth of the fifties and sixties."

Church of the Water in Hokkaido (1980)
Architect: Tadao Ando (1941 - Today)

The Architect and his works

A self-trained architect, Tadao Ando was born in Osaka, Japan, in 1941. He studied traditional Japanese architecture and traveled to the United States, Europe, and Africa studying Western architecture and techniques, and founded Tadao Ando Architect & Associates in Osaka in 1969. Combining modern Western architecture and the simple geometric forms of traditional Japanese architecture, Ando has designed museums, religious structures, and residential and commercial buildings in Germany, Spain, Italy, and France as well as his native Japan. Ando is the recipient of the 1995 Pritzker Architecture Prize and the 2002 American Institute of Architects Gold Medal, and this June was named recipient of the Kyoto Prize for lifetime achievement in the arts and philosophy.

"I do not believe architecture should speak too much. It should remain slient and let nature in the guise of sunlight and wind speak."

Links to related Websites:

http://www.pritzkerprize.com/ppg7.htm
http://www.answers.com/topic/tadao-ando
http://web2.ntit.edu.tw/~s14938024/ando.htm
http://www.voice-of-design.com/vod/7-4/742_am.html
http://caad.arch.ethz.ch/teaching/nds/ws97/script/light/st-light2.html
http://www.arcspace.com/books/ando_works/ando_works_book.html
http://www.arcspace.com/exhibitions/Ando_Ex1/Ando_Exhibition1.htm

Couldn't wait to show you some A.D. Enjoy please!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvgXXazRGHQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVhVkhZK2jk&NR=1

Friday, May 18, 2007

Architecture & Advertising Day No. 1

It is my first day to start to write my Blog --- 建筑十日谈, which actually means "To Talk about Architecture Topics in Ten Days" in English. I would like to start my Blog with an interesting articles about a French Swiss-born Architect --- Le Corbusier and one of his master pieces, namely, the Church of Ronchamps.

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Ronchamp: Saint Marie du Haut in Ronchamps (1950),
Architect: Le Corbusier (1887 - 1965)

The Architect and his work

[Abbildung]

Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, who chose to be known as Le Corbusier (October 6, 1887 – August 27, 1965), was a French, Swiss-born architect and writer, who is famous for his contributions to what now is called modernism, or the International Style.

He was a pioneer in theoretical studies of modern design and was dedicated to providing better living conditions for the residents of crowded cities. His career spanned five decades, with his iconic buildings constructed throughout central Europe, India, Russia, and one structure each in North and South America. He was also an urban planner, painter, sculptor, writer, and modern furniture designer.

Five points of architecture

1928 - 1931 (Villa les Heures Claires) Poissy, France
Architekt: Le Corbusier (1887 - 1965)

It was Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye (1929-1931) that most succinctly summed up his five points of architecture that he had elucidated in the journal L'Esprit Nouveau and his book Vers une architecture, which he had been developing throughout the 1920s. First, Le Corbusier lifted the bulk of the structure off the ground, supporting it by pilotis – reinforced concrete stilts. These pilotis, in providing the structural support for the house, allowed him to elucidate his next two points: a free façade, meaning non-supporting walls that could be designed as the architect wished, and an open floor plan, meaning that the floor space was free to be configured into rooms without concern for supporting walls. The second floor of the Villa Savoye includes long strips of ribbon windows that allow unencumbered views of the large surrounding yard, and which constitute the fourth point of his system. The fifth point was the Roof Garden to compensate the green area consumed by the building and replacing it on the roof. A ramp rising from the ground level to the third floor roof terrace, allows for an architectural promenade through the structure. The white tubular railing recalls the industrial "ocean-liner" aesthetic that Le Corbusier much admired. As if to put an exclamation point on Le Corbusier's homage to modern industry, the driveway around the ground floor, with its semicircular path, measures the exact turning radius of a 1929 Voisin automobile.

The Modulor

Le Corbusier explicitly used the golden ratio in his Modulor system for the scale of architectural proportion. He saw this system as a continuation of the long tradition of Vitruvius, Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man", the work of Leon Battista Alberti, and others who used the proportions of the human body to improve the appearance and function of architecture. In addition to the golden ratio, Le Corbusier based the system on human measurements, Fibonacci numbers, and the double unit.

He took Leonardo's suggestion of the golden ratio in human proportions to an extreme: he sectioned his model human body's height at the navel with the two sections in golden ratio, then subdivided those sections in golden ratio at the knees and throat; he used these golden ratio proportions in the Modulor system.

Le Corbusier's 1927 Villa Stein in Garches exemplified the Modulor system's application. The villa's rectangular ground plan, elevation, and inner structure closely approximate golden rectangles.

Le Corbusier placed systems of harmony and proportion at the centre of his design philosophy, and his faith in the mathematical order of the universe was closely bound to golden section and Fibonacci the series, which he described as "[...] rhythms apparent to the eye and clear in their relations with one another. And these rhythms are at the very root of human activities. They resound in Man by an organic inevitability, the same fine inevitability which causes the tracing out of the Golden Section by children, old men, savages, and the learned."

Furniture

Le Corbusier began experimenting with furniture design in 1928 after inviting the architect, Charlotte Perriand, to join his studio. His cousin, Pierre Jeanneret, also collaborated on many of the designs. Before the arrival of Perriand, Le Corbusier relied on ready-made furniture to furnish his projects, such as the simple pieces manufactured by Thonet.

In 1928 Le Corbusier and Perriand began to put the expectations for furniture Le Corbusier outlined in his 1925 book L'Art Décoratif d'aujourd'hui into practice. In the book he defined three different furniture types: type-needs, type-furniture, and human-limb objects. He defined human-limb objects as: "Extensions of our limbs and adapted to human functions that are. Type-needs, type-functions, therefore type-objects and type-furniture. The human-limb object is a docile servant. A good servant is discreet and self-effacing in order to leave his master free. Certainly, works of art are tools, beautiful tools. And long live the good taste manifested by choice, subtlety, proportion, and harmony".

The first results of the collaboration were three chrome-plated tubular steel chairs designed for two of his projects, The Maison la Roche in Paris and a pavilion for Barbara and Henry Church. The line of furniture was expanded for Le Corbusier's 1929 Salon d'Automne installation, Equipment for the Home.

In the year 1964, while Le Corbusier was still alive, Cassina S.p.A. of Milan acquired the exclusive worldwide rights to manufacture his furniture designs. Today many copies exist, but Cassina is still the only manufacturer authorised by the Fondation Le Corbusier.