Modern Architecture
Architectural History
ACT 322
Doris Kemp
Topics
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Neo-Modernist Extremes
High Tech
Deconstructivism
Neo-Modernist Extremes
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The late twentieth century continued in
important sectors the modern preoccupation
with architectural essentialism
The meaning of architecture has been redefined
many times and contemporary architecture is no
exception
Neo-Modernist Extremes
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High Tech
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Generally seen in a trio of architects
Norman Foster
 Richard Rogers
 Renzo Piano
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Neo-Modernist Extremes
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Norman Foster
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Important contemporary architect whose Hong
Kong and Shanghai Bank is considered a manifesto
of the High Tech movement
Neo-Modernist Extremes
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Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank
1979 -1986
 Headquarters of the dominant financial institution
in Hong Kong
 Foster rejected the standard format of the office
tower
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Employs a novel structure of large-span components
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Giant masts are gathered into groups of four to form huge
pylons
Neo-Modernist Extremes
http://www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/Cities/wld/wcapts2.html
Neo-Modernist Extremes
http://www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/Cities/wld/wcapts2.html
Neo-Modernist Extremes
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Richard Rogers
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His Lloyds Building in London is often paired with
Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank
Neo-Modernist Extremes
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Lloyds Building
Located in London, England
 Interior forms a unitary, multistoried space
 Exterior is designed to look as complex as possible
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Dispersed around the building are towers of tubes, ducts,
shafts, glass, and metal boxes
Neo-Modernist Extremes
http://www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/Cities/wld/wcapts2.html
Neo-Modernist Extremes
http://www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/Cities/wld/wcapts2.html
Neo-Modernist Extremes
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Renzo Piano
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Designed the Kansai Airport in Japan
Neo-Modernist Extremes
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Kansai Airport
1988 – 1994
 Intended to revitalize Japan’s second most populous
region
 Located on the largest artificial island ever built
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Five miles off of Osaka
Neo-Modernist Extremes
http://www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/Cities/wld/wcapts2.html
Neo-Modernist Extremes
http://www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/Cities/wld/wcapts2.html
Neo-Modernist Extremes
http://www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/Cities/wld/wcapts2.html
Neo-Modernist Oppositions
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Deconstructivism
Realization that a building could never ne made
completely perfect
 The very look of imperfection could be a virtue in
itself
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Neo-Modernist Oppositions
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Rooftop Office
Located in Vienna, Austria
 1983 – 1988
 Considered a Deconstructivist jewel
 Baffled critics who struggled to describe the
structure
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Neo-Modernist Oppositions
http://www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/Cities/wld/wcapts2.html
Neo-Modernist Oppositions
http://www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/Cities/wld/wcapts2.html
Neo-Modernist Oppositions
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Wexner Center for the Arts
Columbus, Ohio
 Designed by the American architect Peter Eisenman
 In the form of a slanting spine
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Neo-Modernist Oppositions
http://www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/Cities/wld/wcapts2.html
Neo-Modernist Oppositions
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Parc de la Villete
Located in Paris, France
 Designed by Bernard Tschumi
 Features an array of oddly shaped pavilions
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Neo-Modernist Oppositions
http://www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/Cities/wld/wcapts2.html
Neo-Modernist Oppositions
http://www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/Cities/wld/wcapts2.html
Neo-Modernist Oppositions
http://www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/Cities/wld/wcapts2.html
References
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Sullivan, Mary; http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/
http://www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/Cities/wld/wdpt1.html
Trachtenburg/Hyman; Architecture: From Prehistory to
Postmodernity
Wodehouse/Moffett; A History of Western Architecture
Modern Architecture
Architectural History
ACT 322
Doris Kemp