POSTMODERNISM
Part II
LECTURE 10
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History of Architecture-II (AP-313)
History of Architecture - II (AP-313)
Postmodernism
Nipesh
P Narayanan
HOW IS ARCHITECTURE PERCEIVED?
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
THE MODES OF ARCHITECTURAL COMMUNICATION
~CHARLES JENCKS
Metaphor
Culture based common symbols
Appropriation of symbols
Words
Architectural elements doors, windows, columns
Syntax
Grammar (System)
Semantics
Appropriate usage of symbols/words (Meaning)
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
Image Source: The Language of Post-Modern Architecture ~Charles Jencks [pg 48-49]
METAPHOR
Ronchamp Chapel, France, Le Corbusier, 1955
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
Image Source: The Language of Post-Modern Architecture ~Charles Jencks [pg 48-49]
METAPHOR
Ronchamp Chapel, France, Le Corbusier, 1955
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
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WORDS AND SYNTAX
India Gate, New Delhi
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
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SEMANTICS
Vanna Venturi House, Philadelphia, Robert Venturi, 1959-64
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
(Ar. Minoru Yamasaki)
Modern Architecture died in St. Louis, Missouri on July
15, 1972 at 3:32 PM (or thereabouts) when the infamous Pruitt-Igoe scheme, or rather several of its slab
blocks, were given the final coup de grce by dynamite.
~ Charles Jencks (1987)
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DEATH OF MODERN ARCHITECTURE!
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
1954 -THE SEVEN CRUTCHES OF MODERN ARCHITECTURE ~Philip Johnson
1. History
2. Pretty Drawings
3. Utility (Usefulness)
They say a building is good architecture if it works. Of course,
this is poppy-cock. All buildings work..merely that a building
works is not sufficient. You expect that it [Link] when its
used as a crutch it impedes. It lulls you into thinking that that is
architecture
4.
5.
6.
7.
Comfort
Cheapness
Serving the Client
Structure
Why not realize that architecture is the sum of inescapable
artistic decisions that YOU have to make
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
[Johnsons] first, tentative break with Mies was the Synagogue.
outside a startling simplification recalling of those of Ledoux, on the
inside memories of the Soane Museum. These historical quotes are
located within a black picture-frame of Meiesian steel.. ~ C Jencks
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1956 -THE SYNAGOGUES IN PORT CHESTER ~Philip Johnson
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
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1956 -THE SYNAGOGUES IN PORT CHESTER ~Philip Johnson
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
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THE MOULDINGS AND TRADITIONAL SYMBOLS
Robert Venturi, Headquarter Building, North
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
Penn Visiting Nurses Association, 1960
WHY THE MOULDINGS AND TRADITIONAL SYMBOLS?
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
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WHERE IS THE ENTRANCE?
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
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WHERE IS THE ENTRANCE?
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
Less is More
~ Mies Van Der Rohe
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Barcelona, 1929
THE ORNAMENT DISCUSSION
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
Mies is such a genius! But I grew old! And bored! My direction
is clear; eclectic tradition. This is not academic revivalism.
There are no Classic orders or Gothic finials. I try to pick up
what I like throughout history. We cannot not know history
~ Philip Johnson (1965)
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AT&T Building, NY, 1984
THE ORNAMENT DISCUSSION
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
Duck
Meaning Conveyed by
Architectural Symbols
Decorated Shell
Meaning conveyed by
Signage
1966
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DUCK AND DECORATED SHELL!
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
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DUCK OR DECORATED SHELL?
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
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DUCK OR DECORATED SHELL?
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
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DUCK OR DECORATED SHELL?
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
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DUCK OR DECORATED SHELL?
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
COMPLEXITY AND CONTRADICTION IN ARCHITECTURE
~ R Venturi (1966)
Visual preferences in opposition to modernism
Complexity and contradiction VS
Simplification
Ambiguity and tension rather than
straightforwardness
both-and rather than either-or
Hybrid rather than pure elements
Messy vitality rather than obvious unity
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
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FRANKLIN COURT
Philadelphia, Robert Venturi, 1972-76
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
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FRANKLIN COURT
Philadelphia, Robert Venturi, 1972-76
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
JENCKS AND THE READING OF POST-MODERN ARCHITECTURE
Straight Revivalism
Neo-Vernacular
Metaphor and Metaphysics
Radical Eclecticism
Post-Modern Classicism
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
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STRAIGHT REVIVALISM
Mosque, Luxor, Egypt, Hassan Fathy (1948)
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
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NEO VERNACULAR
Amsterdam Zwolle Housing, Aldo Van Eyck and Theo Bosch, 1975-77
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
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METAPHOR & METAPHYSICS
Amdavad ni Gufa, B V Doshi, 1992-95
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
AT&T Building, Philip Johnson, NY, 1984
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RADICAL ECLECTICISM
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
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POST-MODERN CLASSICISM
Piazza DItalia, New Orleans, 1978
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
JENCKS AND THE READING OF POST-MODERN ARCHITECTURE
Straight Revivalism
Neo-Vernacular
------------------------------------Critical Regionalism
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
POST-MODERN SPACE
Post-Modern space is historically specific, rooted in
conventions, unlimited or ambiguous in zoning and irrational
or transformational in its relation of parts to whole.
skew or distorted spaces, created by sharp angles which
exaggerate perspective.
always keep a mental coordinate system no matter how
free-form and baroque they become. The reference plane is
always an implied frontality, and the route through the
building or the curvilinear elements then relate to this
conceptual cage
~ Charles Jencks (1987)
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
Vanna Venturi House, Philadelphia, Robert Venturi, 1959-64
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POST-MODERN SPACE
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
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[Online]
POST-MODERN SPACE
House 3, Minnesota , Peter Eisenman, 1971
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
Westchester House , NY, Robert Stern, 1974-76
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POST-MODERN SPACE
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
Faculty Club, California, Charles Moore & William Turnbill, 1969
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POST-MODERN SPACE
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
Pennsylvania, 2007
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ARCHITECT PHILIP JOHNSON - PPG PLACE
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
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ARCHITECT PHILIP JOHNSON - THE JOHNSON BUILDING
Massachusetts, 2008
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
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ARCHITECT JAMES STIRLING- CLORE GALLERY
London, 1980-87
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
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ARCHITECT JAMES STIRLING- NO 1 POULTRY
London, 1997
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
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ARCHITECT CHARLES MOORE - PIAZZA D'ITALIA
Piazza DItalia, New Orleans, 1978
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
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ARCHITECT CHARLES MOORE FACULTY CLUB
California, Charles Moore & William Turnbill, 1969
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
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ARCHITECT CHARLES MOORE FACULTY CLUB
California, Charles Moore & William Turnbill, 1969
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
Le Grand Louvre, Paris , 1988
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ARCHITECT I M PEI LE GRAND LOUVRE
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
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ARCHITECT I M PEI BELL TOWER
Kyoto, Japan , 1997
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
SF, 1995
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[Online]
ARCHITECT MARIO BOTTA SF-MOMA
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
Wellfleet, Massachusetts, 1977
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ARCHITECT CHARLES JENCKS GARAGIA ROTUNDA
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
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ARCHITECT CHARLES JENCKS GARAGIA ROTUNDA
Wellfleet, Massachusetts, 1977
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
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ARCHITECT MICHAEL GRAVES PORTLAND BUILDING
Portland, 1982
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
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ARCHITECT LON KRIER NEW TOWN OF POUNDBURY
New Urbanism, England, 1980s
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
RATIONALISM
Modena, Italy, 1984
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[Online]
ARCHITECT ALDO ROSSI SAN CATALDO CEMETERY NEO
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
RATIONALISM
Modena, Italy, 1984
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[Online]
ARCHITECT ALDO ROSSI SAN CATALDO CEMETERY NEO
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
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ARCHITECT ROB KRIER RITTERSTRASSE APARTMENTS
Berlin, 1978
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
CHAPEL
Pennsylvania, 2010
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ARCHITECT ROBERT VENTURI + DENISE SCOTT BROWN
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
ARCHITECT ROBERT VENTURI + DENISE SCOTT BROWN
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CHAPEL
Pennsylvania, 2010
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
POST-MODERN ARCHITECTS AND THE URBAN CONCERNS
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
POST-MODERN ARCHITECTS AND THE URBAN CONCERNS
Social Modernity and Modernism
The unrealised dream
Post-Modern response to the Public
Expression, Ornament, Wit
Urban Outburst and the fall of Modernisms
promise
Complexity as opposed to modernisms standardization
Urban as the new Laboratory
Rem Koolhaas in Lagos
Rob Krier - Town Spaces. Contemporary Interpretations
in Traditional Urbanism
Aldo Rossi - The architecture
of the city
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
13 PROPOSITIONS OF POST-MODERN ARCHITECTURE, JENCKS
1. Multivalence is preferred to univalence,
imagination to fancy.
2. Complexity and Contraction over
Minimalism
3. Chaos Theory explain nature than liner
dynamics.
4. Memory and History are inevitable
1996
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
13 PROPOSITIONS OF POST-MODERN ARCHITECTURE, JENCKS
5. All architecture is invented and perceived
through codes, hence the languages of
architecture and symbolic architecture, hence
the double-coding of architecture within the
codes of both the professional and populace.
1996
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
13 PROPOSITIONS OF POST-MODERN ARCHITECTURE, JENCKS
6. All codes are influenced by a semiotic
community and various taste cultures, hence the
need in pluralist culture for a design based
on Radical Eclecticism.
1996
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
13 PROPOSITIONS OF POST-MODERN ARCHITECTURE, JENCKS
7. Architecture is a public language, hence the
need for a Post-Modern Classicism which is partly
based on architectural universals and changing
technology.
1996
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
13 PROPOSITIONS OF POST-MODERN ARCHITECTURE, JENCKS
8. Architecture necessitates ornament (or
patterns) which should be symbolic and
symphonic, hence relevance of information
theory.
1996
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
13 PROPOSITIONS OF POST-MODERN ARCHITECTURE, JENCKS
9. Architecture necessitates metaphor and this
should relate us to natural and cultural concerns,
hence the explosion of zoomorphic imagery, face
houses and scientific iconography instead of
machine for living.
1996
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
13 PROPOSITIONS OF POST-MODERN ARCHITECTURE, JENCKS
10. Architecture must form the city ,
hence Contexualism, collage City, Neo
Rationalism, small-block planning, and
mixed uses and ages of buildings.
1996
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
13 PROPOSITIONS OF POST-MODERN ARCHITECTURE, JENCKS
11. Architecture must crystallise social reality
and in global city today, the Heteropolis, the very
much means the pluralism of ethnic groups;
hence participatory design and adhocism.
1996
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
13 PROPOSITIONS OF POST-MODERN ARCHITECTURE, JENCKS
12. Architecture must confront the ecological
reality and that means sustainable
development, Green architecture and cosmic
symbolism.
1996
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
13 PROPOSITIONS OF POST-MODERN ARCHITECTURE, JENCKS
13. We live in a surprising, creative, self-organising
universe which still gets locked-into various
solutions; hence the need for a cosmogenic
architecture which celebrates criticism,
process and humour.
1996
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
A work can become modern only if it is first
postmodern. Postmodernism thus understood is not
modernism at its end but in the nascent state, and this
state is constant
~ Jean Franois (1979), The Postmodern Condition
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
REFERENCE
Charles Jencks. 1977. The Language of Post-Modern
Architecture. Academy Editions. ISBN 0856709336
Robert Venturi. 1966. Complexity and Contradiction in
Architecture. "The Museum of Modern Art, New York"; 2nd
edition (July 2, 2002). ISBN 0870702823
History of Architecture - II (AP-313) Postmodernism
