Center your discussion on how each building is designed to meet the everyday needs of its occupants and to be a groundbreaking artistic statement. Thinking about today, how would these modern buildings have to be updated to meet the needs of 21st-century inhabitants? Do you have a favorite, either from the list or off? Add to at least 2 of your classmates' posts with substantial information or comments that round out their posts (more about the other buildings by that person or culture, a little known fact, etc...) Include pictures of the works you discuss in the post. Monticello, Virginia, U.S. Thomas Jefferson (architect). 1768–1809 C.E Thomas Jefferson was a founding father of the United States. He penned both the Declaration of Independence and the Statue of Virginia for religious freedom. He also founded the public state university - The University of Virginia. Jefferson was not only well-versed in politics but also architecture, specifically neoclassical architecture which he would popularize in the United States. Cicero believed that a skilled orator could teach. Delight, and move society. Jefferson held the belief that architecture could galvanize the public in a similar manner. While in College, Jefferson took notice of the Wren-Baroque architecture in Williamsburg Virginia. He expressed dissatisfaction with the style and believed that it was too British for colonial America which had its own identity. Jefferson’s home Monticello departs from the norm in multiple ways. First, it’s location which was atop a hillside as opposed to a waterfront like many of the landed gentry of Virginia. Second, he chose to have classical references within his pieces as opposed to the aforementioned baroque. His brief five-year position as American minister to France during the Washington presidency further influenced his work because he was personally exposed to classical architecture in France. After resigning from the cabinet and before his Presidency Jefferson would work on his Monticello estate, redesigning and renovating. Elements of the estate were borrowed by French Neoclassicism. The brick home gave the illusion of symmetry under Doric entablature. The facade in the west garden features a two column deep portico. The doric columns support a simple triangular pediment. There isn’t a frieze on the pediment but instead a semicircular window. The wood balustrade gives the illusion of horizontality while the octagonal drum and shallow dome provide verticality. In light of the enlightenment and reemergence of democracy, Jefferson wanted the architecture within the U.S. to represent classical ideal, specifically democratic ideals. To Jefferson, his Monticello home was reminiscent of democracy, education, rationality, and civic responsibility. It is no wonder that his home is featured on the nickel. Villa Savoye, Poissy-sur-Seine, France. Le Corbusier (architect). 1929 C.E. The Villa Savoye was designed by the architect Le Corbusier in the year 1929, he believed that “The house should be a machine for living in,”. It is located in the suburban sprawl outside Paris, thus providing Le Corbusier the liberty of space that would otherwise not be available in the French capital. The boxy home is both sculptural and functional. Le Corbusier wrote a plethora of published essays praising modern STEM but also archaic systems which had architectural beauty due to their efficiency. The goal of Le Corbusier was to isolate type forms: universal elements of design that work together in a system. His five points of architecture are as follows. There needed to be pilotis to raise the building off the ground, roof terraces to bring nature to urban settings, a free plan allowing interior space to be distributed at will, a free facade whose smooth plane can be used for formal experimentation, and finally, ribbon windows. All five points of architecture can be seen in Villa Savoye. The cube-like quality of the interior can be juxtaposed with the dynamism and curvaceous ramps found in the interior to give the house subtle energy. He paid careful attention to integrating indoor and outdoor spaces because he held the belief that family time outdoor was just as characteristic of a modern lifestyle as cars, planes, and trains were. Le Corbusier’s home is both modern and classical in a sense through its fusion of his type form along with the proportion precedence set forth by the Greeks. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/later-europe-and-americas/moder nity-ap/a/corbusier-savoye Fallingwater, Pennsylvania, U.S. Frank Lloyd Wright (architect). 1936–1939 C.E. Fallingwater in Pensylvania is arguably America’s most famous house and he uses this particular building to substantiate his claim as “The world’s greatest architect.” The great depression led to not only a recession in economics but also the arts, including architecture. During this time period, Wright was also critiqued to be considered a lesser modernist architect compared to his European counterparts. Wright was given the opportunity to design a “weekend home” in the country for Edgar Kaufmann Jr. Wright saw the waterfall and decided that instead of placing the home alongside the fall he wanted the two to be merged. The illusion was intended to make it appear as if the stream flows through the home. Fallingwater is another example of Wright implementing his concept of “organic architecture” which stems from transcendentalism: a philosophy founded on the belief that both people and nature have inherent goodness. The cantilevered ledges of the building blend with the rock strata thus enhancing the landscape for the better. Wright liberally uses industrial materials such as glass to stay consistent with the natural theme. Furthermore, he refrains from having any walls facing the falls. Smaller meticulous details also prioritize nature such as bending trellis beams around a pre-existing tree. Wright took inspiration from the European modernist style in his piece but changes elements to match his transcendentalist style which shuns industrialization. For example, instead of bright white balconies, he opts for a more natural earthen and ivory tone. The ferro-concrete cantilevered balconies were revolutionary for its time. However, engineeringly and physically speaking they are not stable and have had to be continuously repaired since Wright’s original creation. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/later-europe-and-americas/moder nity-ap/a/frank-lloyd-wright-fallingwater House in New Castle County, Robert Venturi, John Rauch, and Denise Scott Brown (architects). 1978–1983 C.E. The New Castle county house is a post-modern home that was built in rural Delaware on the east coast of the United States. Venturi’s architectural studies in Rome at the American Academy caused him to develop an appreciation of post-renaissance architecture in Italy. His exposure to the many architectural styles galvanized him to write the book Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture​ discussing architecture throughout history. The book solidified his line of thought that the visual perception of a building trumps the techniques, systems, and theories used to plan and construct them. Ostensibly, The New Castle County house evokes a sense of familiarity with the traditional American farmhouse. In terms of location is it on a rolling field beside a thick forest. The painted siding is white and the intersecting gables have wood shingles. In reality, there is diversity within the architectural features which depart from the norm. The front facade incorporates a floating arched screen. It is multi purposeful serving as a traditional Austrian Baroque sign which symbolizes that the home is a residence. It also acts as a blind for the bird-watching aficionado owners. The rear features flat columns which resemble traditional doric columns which have very little supporting purpose for the pediment above. The ridicuoulous nature of the rear gives it a cartoonish appearance. The interior is just as full of character as the exterior. The interior is quirky with painted arched ceilings and an abstract chandelier all of which appear 2-D and are crafted in Gothic and Queen Anne styles. My personal favorite piece would have to be Monticello because it is a living ideal to American principles. It reminisces the classical past while also looking forward to the present and new American identity.
