Postmodernistic Architecture (8.24)

Rogers and Piano - Pompidou Center (late 20C)

This is one of the most famous postmodern structures in the world. The six-level building contains a modern art museum, a library, theaters, music and industrial design centers and even a restaurant. The work was the personal vision of architects who sought to "expose" the structure's inner workings. This idea was also reinforced by color: red for people (note the red on the elevator shaft and tubular passageways), green for water pipes, blue for air conditioning ducts and yellow for electricity tubes.

Graves

Another work of postmodern architecture is the Portland Public Services Building in Portland, Oregon. Here, we see the complexity and the color which characterize many postmodernist works. Also of note are the unique, purely decorative features which contrast sharply with the modernist structures we studied in our last lesson.

Deconstructivism

Many works of postmodern architecture are also considered this, which is an approach to building design that attempts to view architecture in bits and pieces. In these works, the basic elements of architecture are dismantled. These buildings may seem to have no visual logic, as they often appear to be made up of unrelated, disharmonious abstract forms.

Stirling

The Neue Staatsgalerie ("New State Gallery") in Stuttgart, Germany, designed by this artist (1926-1992) is an excellent example of Deconstructivist architecture. Here, we see classical segmented arches and rustication mixed with bright greens, pinks and blues. Even more telling is the combination of straight and curvilinear elements that meet at strange angles.

Moore

The eclectic quality of postmodern architecture is nowhere better exemplified than in artist's (1925-1993) Piazza d'Italia in New Orleans. This open area, which is nestled between downtown high rises, was constructed to honor the city's Italian American community. Appropriately, artist represented Italy's rich artistic heritage in this work. From ancient times, we see the influence of the Roman fora (marketplaces) and the presence of all the classical orders (Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and Composite). The circular shape of the piazza recalls the Renaissance, while the irregular colonnades look back to Mannerism and the dramatic, illusionistic pavement design (not shown) finds its inspiration in the Baroque. Of course he also represented the contemporary period as we see in his use of stainless-steel columns and the striking juxtapositions of color.

Gehry - Guggenheim Museum, Bilboa (late 20C)

The most famous of the deconstructivist architects is this artist. When planning a work the architect actually forms a model, cuts it up, and then continually and progressively rearranges the pieces until he achieves his artistic vision. Arguably artist's most impression project is the Guggenheim Museum in Bilboa, Spain. In this structure, we see the dramatic asymmetry of imbalanced forms that characterize deconstructivist architecture. Also of note is the combination of traditional and contemporary building materials (limestone and titanium).

postmodernism

a term used to describe art (visual, literary, etc.) that followed after, and deviated from the twentieth-century movements that constituted modernism. Although the precise meaning of the term is often debated, we can safely state that the view is cool, ironic, and accepting of the fragmentation of contemporary existence. It tends to concentrate on surfaces rather than depths, to blur the distinctions between high and low culture, and as a whole to challenge a wide variety of traditional cultural values. It is probably most specific and meaningful when used in relation to architecture, where it designates an international architectural movement that emerged in the 1960s, became prominent in the late 1970s and 1980s, and remained a dominant force in the 1990s. The movement has been largely a reaction to and a rejection of the impersonal and austere formalism of modernism. Its architecture is characterized by eclecticism and complexity, by a more personal and exaggerated style, and by the use of decorative elements. Practitioners of the architecture have tended to reemphasize elements of metaphor, symbol, and content in their work as well. They share an interest in mass, surface colors, and textures and frequently use unorthodox building materials. However, because postmodern architects have in common only a relatively vague ideology, the style is extremely varied.