ARCHITECTS OF THE MODERN WORLD Manvie Prusty 160823020
(EARLY MODERNIST)
WALTER BURLEY GRIFFIN (1876 - 1937)
An American architect and landscape architect. He is known for designing Canberra, Australia's capital city. He was influenced by the Chicago-based Prairie School. He also trained under F.L. Wright. He worked in partnership with his wife Marion Mahony Griffin. In 28 years they designed over 350 buildings, landscape and urban-design projects as well as designing construction materials, interiors, furniture and other household items.
WALTER BURLEY GRIFFIN
NEWMAN COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE (1918) The building was inspired by medieval Gothic era architecture in Europe and has an Art Deco style. The L-shape of Walter Burley Griffin’s initial structure, completed in 1918, was a remarkably simple plan pattern.
The basic construction was R.C.C. with a veneer of stonework outside and hard smooth plaster wall surfaces inside.
WALTER BURLEY GRIFFIN
Rotunda dining room with dome ceiling where the ribs of the dome can be seen. The cloister and promenade pavements and stairs were finished in dark terracotta quarry tiles.
Typical vent in the window.
The structural motif for the structure comprises a pair of column-piers with a segmental arch possessing double projecting keystones spanning between the two column-piers.
WALTER BURLEY GRIFFIN
HINDMARSH INCINERATOR, AUSTRALIA (1935)
The incinerator was erected for the Hindmarsh Council in 1936 for the incineration of household refuse. The building extends over four levels, with refuse dumped in from the top, to a furnace at mid-level, which then empties into a collection bin at the lowest level.
WALTER BURLEY GRIFFIN
The bold use of textured, red brick cubic forms, at multiple levels, which abut the strong vertical element which houses the incinerator stack, illustrates the architectural skill of Griffin.
The building’s simplicity makes a strong architectural statement, particularly for an industrial building, a type which was traditionally afforded little architectural consideration.
When compared to the contemporary architecture of the time, the Incinerator’s architectural style can be seen as a catalyst for modernism in South Australia.
(POST MODERNIST)
IEON MING PEI (1917 - PRESENT)
A Chinese American architect; he received his Pritzker Prize in 1983 for the National Gallery of Art (DC). He is notable for his forms based upon arrangements of simple geometric shapes such as triangles, circles, and squares. He worked with Walter Gropius during his time at Harvard Design School. Pei founded his own practice in 1955. The firm's most well-known work is their crystalline extension to the Louvre in Paris. In 1990, Pei retired from full-time practice.
IEON MING PEI
LUCE MEMORIAL CHAPEL, TAIWAN (1963) The Luce Memorial Chapel is a Christian chapel on the campus of Tunghai University in Taiwan. Set on an irregular hexagonal base, the chapel occupies 477 square meters of floor area, including a nave with 500 seats, a chancel and robing rooms. The church itself is a tent-like conoid structure, with four warped leaves rising to 19.2 m high.
I.M. Pei was careful to design specific to the environmental context of Taiwan, with walls made of reinforced concrete to provide earthquake stability and durability in the humid and typhoonprone environment.
IEON MING PEI
The chapel’s planes are composed of lattice beams that gradually grow thicker as they descend. The exterior of the Chapel is covered with yellow, glazed, diamond-shaped tiles echoing the diamond-shaped coffer beams on the building’s interior.
IEON MING PEI
BANK OF CHINA TOWER, HONG KONG (1990) The Bank of China Tower stands 70 stories tall, reaching a height of 1,209 feet. Comprised of four vertical shafts, the tower emerges from a 52-meter cube and reduces its mass, quadrant by quadrant, until a single triangular prism resides. The faceted prism is clad in reflective glass that mirrors the changing sky. The bamboo plant was a significant inspiration for this unique building. The trunk of this massive structure is representative of the growth patterns of bamboo, the symbol of hope and revitalization in the Chinese culture.
IEON MING PEI
A small observation deck on the 43rd floor of the building is open to the public. The structure is the first composite space frame high-rise building. The whole structure is supported by the four steel columns at the corners of the building, with the triangular frameworks transferring the weight of the structure onto these four columns. It is covered with glass curtain walls.
(LATE MODERNIST)
RAJ REWAL
(1934 - PRESENT)
Raj Rewal is an Indian architect and urban design consultant. His humanist approach to architecture responds to the complexities of rapid urbanization, the demands of climate, cultural traditions, and building crafts and technologies. His built works comprise a wide range of building types. In 1989, he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Indian Institute of Architects.Â
RAJ REWAL
ASIAN GAMES VILLAGE, NEW DELHI (1980) Raj Rewal interwove three principle dictates: configuring a low-rise, high-density development representative of the Indian "mohalla" or community, creating cluster formations ideal for Indian climate, stepping away from the norm of stereotypical units by introducing variance in scale and elements.
Borrowing instances from Rajasthan, the pathways have been punctuated with units that bridge each other to define gateways and mark transitions across spaces.
RAJ REWAL
With a mix of streets and squares, Rewal recreates what he calls the 'theater of the street' , where public interaction can spill from immediate spaces as neighbors into a community, and works towards making them active participants and not just viewers.
The requirement of 500 units spanned 200 individual town houses and 300 apartments in twoto-four storeyed buildings. Jaisalmer stone grit used as external finish. The structural grid of RCC and brick infill panels was replicated on the facade as a pattern. The combination of grit and cement fortified the bricks against water leakage.
RAJ REWAL
NATIONAL BRAIN RESEARCH CENTRE, MANESAR (2000) The first phase of the facility consists of administration offices, laboratories, scientist rooms, seminar rooms, a library, a canteen and other utilities. Raj Rewal created a compact but fluid design.
The project needed to relate to the hot and dry climate of the region. The concept responds by interlocking three-storeyed blocks around courtyards with sweeping forms, which literally embrace the contours of the site.
RAJ REWAL
Diametrically opposite each other and one with a larger radius than the other, two quadrant units connect at the centre. The landscaped courts with green areas and outdoor seating, at each quadrant's core, bring in natural light and facilitate ventilation to all areas. Following a RCC frame structure with brick infill panels, the institur=e has been clad in beige sandstone, which blends it into its surroundings. Red sanstone is used to distinguish the structural grid. Customized within the budget, a stainless steel pergola comrpises lightweight panels on ropes to cover the courtyards in chequered patterns of shadow. The enclosed arcs recede in section and are punctuated by radiating ribs that tie the structure and accentuate its geomtery.
(INDIAN CONTEMPORARY)
S.P. PATKI Under his leadership, PG Patki Architects is now amongst the leading architectural firms in India, with a varied portfolio that ranges from Luxury Hotels, Residential Enclaves, Multi-speciality Hospitals, Corporate Offices, IT Complexes, Retail and Entertainment Centres and SEZ and Township developments. Â
THE OBEROI AMARVILAS, AGRA (2000)
S.P. PATKI
The architectural concept for The Oberoi Amarvilas is an adaptation of the Andulesean Style of architecture reminiscent of the Ottoman empire of the Turks. This is reflected in the flat domes of the buildings and the design of the arches.
The landscape and overall site development is styled to reflect the sensibilities of Mughal Gardens. The top guest floor is designed to have all suites with private terraces and bathrooms facing the Taj Mahal. Swimming Pool conceptualized on traditional stepped wells.
S.P. PATKI
The elaborate grand staircase leads into the lower terraces and then further down into the open colonnaded porticoes with their sunken gardens and pools. Private vehicular movement has been restricted to provide the guests with a walk-through experience of the water bodies and pavillions.
OSHO COMMUNE, PUNE (2001)
S.P. PATKI
The primary function of this complex was to provide a meditation hall with one single floor space of 25,000 sq. feet. In order to provide maximum and optimum space, the hall has been designed with a pyramidal roof resting on only four columns, thus providing a column free square base.
The hall's ceiling is treated with acoustical boards so that there is no echo or resonance. A diffused lighting technique has been used to enhance the ambient light. The restraint from sharp colours and contrasts lend a warm, soothing, soft ambience and expression; a tone of spirituality.
S.P. PATKI
The pyramid roof is clad with black coated aluminium sheets.Â
SOURCES Raj Rewal, essays by Kenneth Frampton, Peter Davey and Suha Ozkan. http://www.pgpatkiarchitects.com/about-us/ https://www.archdaily.com/153297/ad-classics-bank-of-china-tower-i-m-pei https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_China_Tower_(Hong_Kong) https://www.architravel.com/architravel/building/luce-memorial-chapel/ https://www.archdaily.com/359079/happy-96th-birthday-i-m-pei https://docomomoaustralia.com.au/dcmm/the-architecture-of-the-newman-college/ http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/griffin-walter-burley-443 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindmarsh_Incinerator http://www.architecture.com.au/docs/default-source/sa-notablebuildings/hindmarsh-incinerator.pdf?sfvrsn=2 http://www.pgpatkiarchitects.com/portfolio/osho-pune/