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POST MODERNISM OF REACTION

WHAT IS POSTMODERNISM..?
Postmodernism is largely a reaction to
the assumed certainty of scientific, or
objective, efforts to explain reality. In
the postmodern understanding,
interpretation is everything; reality
only comes into being through our
interpretations of what the world
means to us individually..
Postmodernism relies on concrete
experience over abstract principles,
knowing always that the outcome of
one's own experience will necessarily
be fallible and relative, rather than
certain and universal.

POST MODERNISM OF REACTION

Roots of post modernisation

THE POSTMODERNIST MOVEMENT BEGAN IN AMERICA


AROUND THE EARLY 2OTH CENTURY AND THEN IT SPREAD
TO EUROPE AND THE REST OF THE WORLD.

POSTMODERNISM HAS ITS ORIGINS IN THE


PERCEIVED FAILURE OF MODERN ARCHITECTURE.
DUE TO ITS PREOCCUPATION WITH FUNCTIONALISM
,BUILDING ORNAMENTS WERE ELIMINATED AND THE
BUILDINGS WERE CLOAKED IN A STARK RATIONAL
APPEARANCE.
MANY FELT THE BUILDINGS FAILED TO MEET THE HUMAN
NEED FOR COMFORT BOTH FOR BODY AND FOR THE EYE,
MODERNISM DID NOT ACCOUNT FOR THE DESIRE FOR
BEAUTY.

IN RESPONSE:

ARCHITECTS SOUGHT TO REINTRODUCE ____________


ORNAMENT
COLOR
DECORATION
HUMAN SCALE
FORM NO LONGER FOLLOWED FUNCTION

POST MODERNISM OF REACTION

AIMS OF POST-MODERNISM_______

SOLVING THE PROBLEMS OF


MODERNISM.
COMMUNICATING MEANINGS
WITH AMBIGUITY.
SENSITIVITY FOR THE
BUILDINGS CONTEXT.

POST MODERNISM OF REACTION

Characteristics OF POST MODERN


ARCHITECTURE

RETURN OF "WIT, ORNAMENT


AND REFERENCE- BREAKING
AWAY FROM CONVENTION

NEO-ECLECTIC, WHERE
REFERENCE AND ORNAMENT
HAVE RETURNED TO THE
FACADE, REPLACING THE
AGGRESSIVELY
UNORNAMENTED MODERN
STYLES

POST MODERNISM OF REACTION


USED CLASSICAL STYLES IN NEW COMBINATIONS: PILLARS, TURRET, ARCHES,
DOMES, CURTAIN WALL FACADES; GREEN AND ROMAN CONVENTIONS.

Bank of America Centre

POST MODERNISM OF REACTION


IN CONTRAST, MODERN FUNCTIONALISM IS BORING,

UNINTERESTING, AND

UNPLEASANT

The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art,


Cornell University

San Antonio Public Library, Texas.

POST MODERNISM OF REACTION

MODERN ARCHITECTURE V/S POST MODERN


ARCHITECTURE
CHARACTERISTICS OF
MODERN ARCHITECTURE:

CHARACTERISTICS OF
POST MODERN ARHCHITECTURE:

SIMPLIFICATION OF FORM

SIMPLIFICATION OF FORM WITH ORNAMENTATION

ELIMINATION OF ORNAMENTATION.
DRIVEN BY TECHNOLOGICAL &
ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENTS.

ORNAMENTATION FROM PREVIOUS


STYLES.AESTHETICS WERE EQUALLY IMPORTANT.
TEXTURE AND COLORS WERE USED WIDELY.

NEW BUILDING MATERIALS - IRON,


STEEL,GLASS. ETC

USE OF SCULPTURAL FORMS,ORNAMENTS, AND


MATERIALS.

REJECTION OF HISTORICAL STYLES

BUILDING CHARACTERISTICS INCLUDE PLURALISM,


DOUBLE CODING, FLYING BUTTRESSES. IRONY AND
PARADOX , AND CONTEXTUALISM FURTHER
TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS TOOK PLACE.

EMPHASIS ON HORIZONTAL

& VERTICAL

LINES
FORM

FOLLOWED FUNCTION

FUNCTION FOLLOWED FORM.

POST MODERNISM OF REACTION

CONTRADICTION BETWEEN MODERN ARCHITECTURE


AND POST MODERN ARCHITECTURE

The movement of Postmodernism began with architecture, as


a response to the perceived blandness, hostility, and
Utopianism of the Modern movement.
Postmodernist architecture was one of the first aesthetic
movements to openly challenge Modernism .
Modern Architecture, as established and developed by people
such as Walter Gropius, Le Corbusier, and Philip Johnson, was
focused on the pursuit of a perceived ideal perfection, and
attempted harmony of form and function,and dismissal of
"frivolous ornament.
Postmodern architecture such as the work of Michael Graves
and Robert Venturi reject the notion of a 'pure' form or
'perfect' architectonic detail.

POST MODERNISM OF REACTION

CONTRADICTION BETWEEN MODERN ARCHITECTURE AND POST


MODERN ARCHITECTURE

Modernist Ludwig Mies van


der Rohe is associated with
the phrase "less is more";
in contrast Venturi
famously said, "Less is a
bore."
It is this atmosphere of
criticism, skepticism, and
emphasis on difference
over and against unity that
distinguishes the
postmodernism aesthetic.

POST MODERNISM OF REACTION

A CONTROVERSIAL CRITIC OF THE PURELY FUNCTIONAL AND SPARE


DESIGNS OF MODERN ORTHODOX ARCHITECTURE, VENTURI HAS BEEN
CONSIDERED A COUNTERREVOLUTIONARY, AND WAS AT THE FOREFRONT
OF THIS MOVEMENT.

POST MODERNISM OF REACTION

ARCHITECT JAMES STIRLING

JAMES STERLING WAS BORN IN


GLASGOW,SCOTLAND IN 1926.
IN 1956 JAMES STERLING STARTED HIS
OWN PRACTICE WITH PARTNER JAMES
GOWAN.
INFLUENCED BY THE LATER DESIGNS
OF LE CORBUSIER AND THE THEORIES
OF SMITHSONS,STERLING AND GOWAN
PRODUCED SEVERAL INFLUENTIAL
BUILDINGS WHICH STARTED A TREND
TOWARDS BRICK AND EXPOSED
CONCRETE.
WITHIN A YEAR,THEY UNDERTOOK THE
FIRST MAJOR PROJECT INVOLVING A
GROUP OF FLATS AT HAM
COMMON,LONDON.
SOMEHOW THIS STARTED A TREND OF
FORTHRIGHT DESIGN FOR GENERAL
PUBLIC HOUSING IN LONDON

POST MODERNISM OF REACTION

ARCHITECT JAMES STIRLING

IN 1964, AFTER DISSOLVING


PARTNERSHIP WITH GOWAN,
STIRLING PRODUCED THE DESIGN
OF THE HISTORY FACULTY
BUILDING (1964-67) AT CAMBRIDGE.
LATER, STIRLING TOOK HIS
CAREER TO NEW HEIGHTS WHEN
HE WORKED TOGETHER WITH HIS
ASSOCIATE MICHAEL WILFORD.
TOGETHER, THEY WORKED ON THE
NEW CONCEPT OF INTRODUCING
CULTURAL AND SOCIAL ASPECTS
INTO THEIR DESIGN.
THIS COULD BE SEEN IN PROJECTS
SUCH AS THE EXTENSION FOR
ARTHUR M SACKLER MUSEUM
(1979-84) AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY,
AND THE CLORE GALLERY (1980-85)
AT THE TATE GALLERY, LONDON.

POST MODERNISM OF REACTION

ARCHITECT JAMES STIRLING

HIS IDEOLOGIES
THE EMPHASIS ON ANGLES AND
SPACES DEFINED STIRLING'S STYLE:
A PREFERENCE FOR PRACTICALITY
WITH THE USE OF EFFECTIVE YET
SIMPLE LINES.
HE WAS AMBIVALENT TOWARDS THE
PRIMITIVISM, AND WHAT HE CALLED
THE DELIBERATE AND MANNERED
IMPERFECTIONISM OF LE
CORBUSIERS LATE WORKS
STIRLING SAID,I BELIEVE THAT THE
SHAPES OF A BUILDING SHOULD
INDICATEPERHAPS DISPLAYTHE
USAGE AND WAY OF LIFE OF ITS
OCCUPANTS, AND IT IS THEREFORE
LIKELY TO BE RICH AND VARIED IN
APPEARANCE, AND ITS EXPRESSION
IS UNLIKELY TO BE SIMPLE

POST MODERNISM OF REACTION

JAMES STIRLING- IMPORTANT WORKS

NEUE STAATSGALERIE
GERMANY(1984)

THE NEUE STAATSGALERIE OR NEW


STATE GALLERY AT STUTTGART IN
GERMANY BY JAMES STERLING AND
MICHAEL WILFORD IS THE MOST
SIGNIFICANT MUSEUM OF THE 1980S.

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES:

"THE MAIN ENTRANCE TO THE ART


MUSEUM IS MARKED BY A TALL, BLUE
AND RED PAINTED, CENTRALLY
PLACED STEEL PAVILION.
IT IS APPROACHED TO FRONT RIGHT
BY A STAIRCASE AND TO THE LEFT BY
A RAMP DOMINATED BY OVERSIZED
COLOURED HAND-RAILS.

POST MODERNISM OF REACTION

ARCHITECT JAMES STIRLING

A CAR PARK IS SITUATED BELOW THE


MAIN RECEPTION AREA WHICH IS
ITSELF DOMINATED BY A BRIGHT
GREEN RUBBER FLOOR, AND THIS
REFLECTS IN ALL THE SURROUNDING
GLAZED SURFACES.
GLIMPSED THROUGH SMALL
WINDOWS IN THIS AREA, THE
CENTRAL, SCALPED STONE-FACED
ROTUNDA CAN BE SEEN.
IN IT CLASSICAL REFERENCES
ABOUND.
ON THE FIRST FLOOR LIE THE 15 TOPLIT AND RATHER TRADITIONAL
ROOMS THAT SERVE AS THE
GALLERIES AND CONTAIN SOME
SPLENDID EXAMPLES OF GERMAN
AND FOREIGN ART."

POST MODERNISM OF REACTION

ARCHITECT JAMES STIRLING


FLOREY BUILDING
QUEENSCOLLEGE,
OXFORD(1966-71)

THIS IS A STUDENT
RESIDENCE BUILT FOR
QUEENS' COLLEGE IN
ANSWER TO A WISH BY THE
CLIENTS AND A FEW
SUPPORTERS WHO "WANT
THE BEST BUILDING BY THE
BEST ARCHITECT TO
ATTRACT THE BEST
STUDENTS AND ALSO
RESEARCH FUNDING", ONE
THAT HE SAID HE DID NOT
WANT TO BE "BOXY AND
DULL BUT ADMIRED BY
ARCHITECTS."

POST MODERNISM OF REACTION

ARCHITECT JAMES STIRLING

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES:

THE STUDENTS ROOMS WRAPPED


AROUND A SEMI-OPEN COURT,WERE
FULLY GLAZED FROM FLOOR TO
CEILING.
THEY WERE VENTILATED BY
LOUVERS AND PROTECTED FROM
SUN BY ROLLER BLINDS INSIDE THE
GLASS.
THESE SAME BLINDS WERE
SUPPOSED TO ENSURE PRIVACY.
THE OUTER SIDES OF THE
BUILDING,WHERE THE ACCESS
CORRIDORS AND CIRCULATION
TOWERS WERE POSITIONED,WERE
LARGELY CLAD IN RED TILES.

POST MODERNISM OF REACTION

ARCHITECT JAMES STIRLING

THE BUILDING AS A WHOLE SAT BACK


ON SPLAYED-LEGGED A-FRAME IN
CONCRETE REMINISCENT OF A
GRANDSTAND.
THE MAIN COMMUNAL FUNCTION-A
BREAKFAST ROOM-WAS SITUATED AT
THE FOCAL POINT.
THE IMAGE OF THE GLASS BOX
LIFTED UP ON CONCRETE SUPPORTS
AND OUT OVER NATURE RECALLS
THE PAVILLON SUISSE.
THE STEPPING OF THE ATTACHED
STAIR VOLUMES AND THE
PLACEMENT OF BREAKFAST ROOM
ALONGSIDE A SLAB CALLS TO MIND
AALTOS BAKER HOUSE.

POST MODERNISM OF REACTION

ARCHITECT JAMES STIRLING

THE CLOISTER UNDER


THE A-FRAME AT GROUND
LEVEL AND THE VAGUELY
COURTYARD-LIKE PLAN
ARE SUGGESTIVE OF THE
OXBRIDGE COLLEGIATE
TRADITION.
THUS THE FORM OF THE
FLOREY BUILDING
RESULTED NOT FROM A
FUNCTIONALIST POSITION
BUT FROM A DELIBERATE
CROSS-BREEDING OF
RELEVANT TYPE OF
TRADITION.

POST MODERNISM OF REACTION

MICHAEL GRAVES

MICHAEL GRAVES (BORN JULY


9, 1934) IS AN AMERICAN
ARCHITECT. IDENTIFIED AS
ONE OF THE NEW YORK FIVE,
GRAVES HAS BECOME A
HOUSEHOLD NAME WITH HIS
DESIGNS FOR DOMESTIC
PRODUCTS SOLD AT TARGET
STORES IN THE UNITED
STATES
AN ARCHITECT IN PUBLIC
PRACTICE IN PRINCETON, NEW
JERSEY, SINCE 1964, GRAVES
IS ALSO THE ROBERT
SCHIRMER PROFESSOR OF
ARCHITECTURE, EMERITUS AT
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY. HE
DIRECTS THE FIRM MICHAEL
GRAVES & ASSOCIATES,
WHICH HAS OFFICES IN
PRINCETON AND IN NEW YORK
CITY.

POST MODERNISM OF REACTION

Walt Disney World Swan Hotel

The Walt Disney World Swan is a resort hotel designed by architect Michael Graves located
between Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios behind Disney's BoardWalk Resortand across
from its sister resort, the Walt Disney World Dolphin. The Swan, which opened January 13, 1990
on Disney property, is not owned by the Walt Disney Company, but is instead owned by Tishman
Hotel Corporation and operated by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide under the Westin
brand.
The Dolphin and Swan share similar elements, but each has a distinctive appearance. The Swan's
main structure is a 12-story rectangular main structure with a gently arching top and two 7-story
wings on the Dolphin side. The main structure is crowned with two, 47-foot (14 m) tall Swan
statues. The colored faade is adorned with turquoise waves similar to the Dolphin's banana-leaf
motif.

Walt Disney World Swan


Hotel

Swan Hotel Lobby

SWANS
IN WALT
SWANS
IN WALT
DISNEYDISNEY
WORLDSWORLDS
SWAN HOTELSWAN

HOTEL

ENTRANCE LOBBY OF WALT DISNEY WORLD SWAN


ENTRANCE LOBBY OF WALT DISNEY WORLD SWAN HOTEL
HOTEL

POST MODERNISM OF REACTION

Walt Disney World Swan Hotel

In 2008, The Walt Disney Swan Resort was


awarded a One Palm Designation through the
Florida Green Lodging Program established by
the Florida Department of Environmental
Protection. The Florida Green Lodging Program
is a voluntary state initiative that provides the
lodging industry with free technical assistance,
encouraging hotels and motels to adopt costsaving green practices that reduce waste,
conserve natural resources and improve the
bottom line.

POST MODERNISM OF REACTION

THE PORTLAND BUILDING

LOCATION: Portland, Oregon


DATE:1980
BUILDING TYPE: Government offices
STYLE: Post modern (in reaction )
NOTES: Block mass with decorated
facades,criticised for unpleasant
interior.
Icon of Post-Modernism.

THE PORTLAND BUILDING

About building:

POST MODERNISM OF REACTION

About building:

The Portland Building is home to a massive sculpture named


"Portlandia.
The design of the statue is of a woman dressed in classical Greek
clothing
Use of a variety of surface materials like redand gray sand stone.
Different colors block style were used i.e, browns,blues, and a rusty
redmake emphatic statements against a sandy background.
Small square recessed windows.
overall block-like design.
Use of texture.
Prominent decorative flourishes, was in stark contrast to the
architectural style most commonly used for large office buildings at the
time, and made the building an icon of postmodern architecture.
Use of vertical and horizontal lines.
Made of stone and brick. A stylized garland of blue ribbons (rendered
in concrete) decorates one side .

POST MODERNISM OF REACTION

ARCHITECT CHARLES WILLARD MOORE(1925-93)

Born in 1925 in Benton Harbor Michigan


Nationality: American
Education: University of Michigan, Princeton
University
Projects: Moore house, Orinda California
(1962); Sea Ranch, California (1964-90); Faculty
club, University of California at Santa Barbara
(1968); Kresge College, University of California
at Santa Cruz (1971); Piazza d Italia, New
Orleans (1975-9); hood museum of art,
Dartmouth College, new Hampshire (1985);
Beverly hills civic centre(1985); Playa Vista.
Publications by Moore: The place of House,
Memory and Architecture, New Heaven.
Exhibitions: biennale, Venice (1976); William
College of art (1986)
Awards: AIA gold medal (1986)
Piazza d Italia, New Orleans (1975-9)

POST MODERNISM OF REACTION

He strongly emphasized on
architecture history.

He argued that the building must be


understood to be at some level
anthropomorphic, and
comprehensible to the everyday user.

His architecture drew upon Mexican


and Asian and European precedents.

He was most ecumenical and least


concerned about consistency in his
use of historical sources.

He described himself as something


between Litmus paper and a piranha
fish

Haas School of Business at the University of


California

Sea Ranch, California Yale Building Project

POST MODERNISM OF REACTION

ARCHITECT CHARLES WILLARD MOORE(1925-93)

HIS PHILOSPHIES:

HE STRONGLY EMPHASIZED ON ARCHITECTURE HISTORY.HE ARGUED THAT THE BUILDING


MUST BE UNDERSTOOD TO BE AT SOME LEVEL ANTROPOMORPHOC,AND COMPREHENSIVE
TO THE EVERY DAY USER.
MOORE BELIEVE THAT THE ARCHITECTURE MUST ELICT RESPONSES FROM ALL THE
SENSE,NOT ONLY THE VISUAL.FELT THAT ARCHITECTURE SHOULD BE BASED ON CLIENT
PREFERENCE AND ON A SYMBOLIC REFERCE TO THE SITE.
HE PURPOSEFULLY CREATES ARCHITECTURE THAT ENGAGE HISTORY ,MYTH AND
CREATIVITY.INSTEAD OF USING ARCHITECTURE TO MORALIZE AN IDEA,HE USES IT TO
GENERATE AN ENVIRONMENT GETS STIMIULATE THE USER.
HIS DESIGN PHILOSPHIES ROOTED IN AN OPEN MINDED APPRECIATION OF THE WAY
PEOPLE LIVE THEIR LIVES.
HE DEVELOPED A HUMAISTIC APPROACH TO ARCHITECTURE EACH DESIGN ATTEMPTED TO
ENGAGE USER WITHIN A CLEARY DEFINED SPATIAL ENVIRONMENT TO EFFECTVELY
ACTIVATE THE SPACES AND GENERATE SYNTHESIS.

POST MODERNISM OF REACTION

Piazza d'Italia

The Piazza d'Italia is an urban public plaza located at


Lafayette and Commerce Streets in downtown New
Orleans, Louisiana It is controlled by the Piazza d'Italia
Development Corporation, a subdivision of New Orleans
city government. Completed in 1978 according to a design
by noted post-modernist Charles Moore and Perez
Architects of New Orleans, the Piazza d'Italia debuted to
widespread acclaim on the part of artists and architects.
Deemed an architectural masterpiece even prior to its
completion, the Piazza in fact began to rapidly deteriorate
as the development surrounding it was never realized. By
the turn of the new millennium, the Piazza d'Italia was
largely unfrequented by and unknown to New Orleanians,
and was sometimes referred to as the first "postmodern
ruin". The conversion of the adjacent Lykes Center to
the Loews Hotel, New Orleans completed in 2003, was
accompanied by the full restoration of the Piazza d'Italia
(accomplished by 2004).

POST MODERNISM OF REACTION

Restoration
In 2002 plans were announced to convert the by-then
vacant Lykes Center adjacent to the Piazza into a Loews
Hotel. The hotel's developers pledged $1 million to restore
the Piazza to working order, and Perez Architects was hired
to ensure a faithful restoration. In 2004, the fountain was
restored to operation, though the badly deteriorated
campanile on the site's extreme periphery was removed.
The owners of the Loews Hotel currently lease the surface
parking lot next to the Piazza and intend to one day realize
the Piazza d'Italia's design vision of an urban "surprise
plaza", perhaps by constructing another hotel. Nothing is
imminent, however - given the state of the national
economy (2009) - and though the fountain has been
restored, the Piazza's design remains only partially
fulfilled.

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