1913 1922 1925 1938 1959 - history 382 njit · oscar niemeyer walter gropius modernism, corbusian...
TRANSCRIPT
OSCAR NIEMEYER
WALTER GROPIUS
MODERNISM, Corbusian
“I’m not attracted to hard right angles and inflexible straight lines. My attraction is to curves, the curves of my country’s mountains, of her rivers and of the bodies of her women. The universe is made of curves.”
“Our guiding principle was that design is neither an intellectual nor a material affair, but simply an integral part of the stuff of life, necessary for everyone in a civilized society.”
Oscar Niemeyer HouseCanoas, Barra de Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Brazilian Pavilion New York World Fair
Cathedral of BrasiliaBrasilia, Brazil
Expressionist Modernism structural
MONUMENTAL Modernism, Irregular Expressionist Modernism sculptural,
MONUMENTAL, UFOExpressionist Modernism sculptural, EYE
Oscar Niemeyer Museum Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
Niterói Contemporary Art MuseumNiteroi, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
BUILT IN LINCOLN, MASSACHUSETTS IN 1938 THE GROPIUS HOUSE WAS DESIGNED FOR WALTER GROPIUS
AND HIS FAMILY WHEN THEY MOVED TO AMERICA FROM EUROPE. THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE GROPIUS
HOUSE IMPACTED AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE DRAMATICALLY AND WAS ONE OF THE FIRST EXAMPLES OF
‘INTERNATIONAL STYLE’
1939
1959193819251913 1922
BUILT IN CANOAS, RIO DE JANERIO, BRAZIL IN 1953. OSCAR NIEMEYER’S HOUSE WAS DESIGNED FOR OSCAR NIEMEYER
AND HIS FAMILY , WHICH WAS LATER USED AS HEADQUATERS OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY IN BRAZIL. IT IS CONSIDERED TO BE ONE
OF THE FIRST EXAMPLES OF “FREEFORM” MODERN ARCHITECTURE
Fagus Factory
Alfad, Germany
Chicago Tribune Competition BauhousDessau, Germany
Gropius HouseLincoln MASSACHUSETTS
Embassy of the US in Athens
WALTER GROPIUSGROPIUS HOUSE
LINCOLN, MASSACHUSETTS 1938
OSCAR NIEMEYERNIEMEYER HOUSE
RIBBON WINDOWS
EXTRUDED CANOPY
ALONG ANGLED PATH
GLASS BLOCK ALONG ENTRY
THE RIBBON WINDOWS ALONG THE SECOND FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IS AN ELEMENT IN RESPECT TO CORBUSIER’S
FIVE POINTS OF ARCHITECTURE.
THE EXTRUDED CANOPY COVERING THE ANGLED PATHWAY SIGNIFIES A DIRECT ROUTE INTO THE HOUSE AND REPRESENTS A
SENSE OF OPENNESS AND WELCOMING, ALLOWING A FILTERING EFFECT TO OCCUR FROM THE STREET INTO THE HOUSE.
THE GLASS BLOCK ALONG THE ENTRY IS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW GROPIUS WANTED TO UNITE TRADITIONAL NEW
ENGLAND MATERIALS WITH MORE MODERN AND TECHNOLOGICALLY DRIVEN ASPECTS.
DRIVING COMPONENTS
Roof Curveature to allow Nature
to penetrate into the spaces
Interior
Boulder acts as a Joint connecteing the
exterior and interior. Inside the boulder
begins to become part of the space-
becoming a stair
r
The pool of water begins to shape
circulation into the house
OSCAR NIEMEYER USES THE SITE CONTEXT TO DRAW THE IRREGULAR SHAPE. HOUSE IS MADE UP OF THREE BASIC ELEMENTST: THE CONCRETE ROOF OVER
THE TERRAIN SLOPE, THE BOULDER AND SWIMMING POOL. THE CURVY SHAPE OF THE ROOF SLAB MATCHES THE THE CURVY SHAPES OF THE ROOF SLAB
MATCH THE SHAPES OF THE HILL AND THE ORGANIC VEGETATION THAT SURROUNDS THE HOUSE. NIEMEYER USES THE BOULDER ON SITE AND INCORPO-
RATES IT INTO THE HOUSE, “: THE ROCK, LIFT INITS NATURAL FORM AND SIZE, FUNCTIONS ALMOST LIKE A JOINT, SOFTLY PENETRATING THE HOUSE” . THE
THIRD ELEMENT, THE POOL ORGANIZES THE EXTERIOR SPACE, DIRECTING THE CIRCULATION INTO THE ENTRY. THE THREE ELEMENTS ARE HEAVLY INFLU-
ENCED BY THE EXISTING SITE CONDITIONS. OSCAR NIEMEYER USED “NATURE AS HIS INTERIOR DECORATOR”.
“My priority was design the residence with total freedom, adapting it to
the land topography, without change it, making the house in curves, in a
way that the vegetation can penetrate in it, without the ostensive break-
down of the straight line.”
OSCAR NIEMEYER USES THE SITE TYPOGRAPHY, TO LAYOUT
HIS INTERIOR SPACES.THE PRIVATE SPACES ARE LOCATED IN
THE LOWER LEVEL, AND PUBLIC ON THE UPPER LEVEL.OSCAR
KEEPS THE UPPER LEVEL OPEN AND TRANSPARENT. ALLOW-
ING THE LIVING ROOM SPACES TO FLOW INTO THE
SURROUNDING LANDSCAPE.
OSCAR CREATES A CEREMONIAL ENTRY, MAKING THE USER
LEAVE THE CAR PARKED DOWN THE SLOPE AND FORCING
THEM TO EXPIERENCE THE NATURAL SURROUNDINGS OF THE
AREA. IT IS SUGGESTED THAT NIEMEYER WANTED THE
VISITORS TO LEAVE THE WORLD OF TECHNOLOGY AND ENTER
INTO THE REALM WHERE ARCHITECTURE MEETS NATURE.
Public
Private
WALTER GROPIUSGROPIUS HOUSE
LINCOLN, MASSACHUSETTS 1938
OSCAR NIEMEYERNIEMEYER HOUSE
LINCOLN, MASSACHUSETTS 1938
FORM
INTERIOR ORGANIZATION
UNLIKE THE GROPIUS HOUSE, WHICH PLACED PRIVATE ROOMS ON THE HIGHER LEVEL,
PRIVATE FACILITIES FOR THE NIEMEYER HOUSE IS LOCATED BELOW LEVEL.
BOTH PROJECT SHARE THE IDEA OF PLACING PUBLIC ROOMS ON GROUND LEVEL.
THE SHARP ENTRY INTO THE GROPIUS HOUSE IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM
THAT OF THE “HIDDEN” ENTRY WAY OF THE NIEMEYER HOUSE.
THE ANGLED AND ROUGH LINED CANOPY SIGNIFIES A STRONG AND
DIRECT ROUTE INTO THE BUILDING.
THIS ANGLED CANOPY CONTRASTS THAT OF THE REST OF THE HOUSE
WHICH CONSISTS OF MOSTLY RIGHT ANGLES.
THE FORM OF THE GROPIUS HOUSE IS VERY LINEAR. FROM LOOKING AT THE BUILDING PLAN
IT APPEARS AS IF THE OVERALL SHAPE OF THE BUILDING IS COMPRISED OF THREE
RECTALINEAR FORMS WITH THE ANGLED CANOPY PROTRUDING THOUGH FROM THE
SIDE OF THE BUILDING. THIS EXTREME ANGLE SIGNIFIES THE ENTRY INTO THE BUILDING,
WELCOMING VISITORS FROM THE NEARBY ROAD.
SITE
TYPOLOGY
THE HOUSE IS SITUATED ON A FLAT SITE WITH VERY MINIMAL
CHANGE IN ELEVATION. THE HOUSE IS ISOLATED WITHIN A CONGESTED FOREST,
WITH THE NEAREST HOUSE LOCATED OVER 100 FEET AWAY
1
2
3
PARKINGENTRY &
CIRCULATION
PRIVATE FACILITIES
PUBLIC
PRIVATE FACILITIES
PUBLIC
MATERIALITY & STRUCTURE
CONCRETE
OSCAR NIEMEYERNIEMEYER HOUSE
LINCOLN, MASSACHUSETTS 1938
GLASS
WALTER GROPIUSGROPIUS HOUSE
CLAPBOARDMOSTLY USED TO ENCLOSE THE STRUCTURE OF FARMHOUSES
BRICK
THE LOCATION OF THE SITE HIGHLY INFLUENCED THE STYLE OF THE GROPIUS HOUSE. IN ORDER TO KEEP
RESPECT TO THE NEW ENGLAND FARMHOUSE AESTHETIC AND VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE,
WALTER GROPIUS AND HIS FAMILY TRAVELLED AROUND THE NEW ENGLAND AREA
IN SEARCH FOR INSPIRATION AND GUIDANCE. THE EXPLORATION LED TO THE HOME’S FINAL DESIGN
WHICH COMBINED TRADTIONAL NEW ENGLAND ELEMENTS SUCH AS CLAPBOARD, BRICK AND
FIELDSTONE WITH MODERNISTIC TECHNOLOGIES THAT GROPIUS WAS ACCUSTOMED TO BACK IN EUROPE.
ALTHOUGH GROPIUS’ MAIN CONCERN AND GOAL WAS TO NOT OBSTRUCT THE NEW ENGLAND VERNACULAR STYLE,
HE IMPOSED THE FARMHOUSE ARCHITECTURE WITH INNOVATIVE MATERIALS RARELY USED FOR
DOMESTIC TYPOLOGIES AT THAT TIME, SUCH AS GLASS BLOCK, ACOUSTICAL PLASTER, CHROME BANISTERS
AND USED THE LATEST TECHNOLOGIES IN FIXTURES. ALONG WITH THESE MATERIAL ADDITIVES,
GROPIUS ALSO PAITED THE HOUSE WITH A STARK WHITE. WHICH WHEN COMBINED
WITH THE TINTED RIBBON WINDOWS AND THE GLASS BLOCK WOULD GIVE A SLIGHTLY CORBUSIAN FEEL.
THE SITE PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE DESIGN OF THE HOUSE. BUT UNLIKE WALTER
GROPUIS HE DOES NOT DESIRE TO INCORPARTE BRAZILS VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE.
INSTEAD HIS DESIGN BEGINS TO MIMC THE EXISTING LAND TOPOGRAPY, DESIGNING THE RESI-
DENCE WITH COMPLETE FREEDOM. OSCAR’S INSPIRATION WAS THE NATURAL ELEMENTS OF THE
SITE, USING THE BOULDER, AND LAND TOPAGRAPHY, AND VIEWS.
OSCAR DECIDES TO PRESERVE THE VIEWS BY ENSURING ALMOST TOTAL VISUAL CONTINUITY THROUGH
THE INTERIOR - DEMANDING LARGE AREAS OF GLASS SHADED BY AN OVERHANG ROOF TO ENSURE TRANS-
PARENCY AND MINIMAL INTERNAL DIVISION. NIEMEYER USES MODERN TECHNOLOGY TO ACHIEVE THE
FEELING OF LIGHTNESS AND TRANSPARENCY.
WORKS CITED
Schariach, Cecilia. Oscar Niemeyer: A Legend of Modernism. Berlin: Birkauser, 2003. Print.
Bradbury, Dominic. The Iconic House: Architectural Masterworks since 1900. London: Thames & Hudson, 2009. Print.
"Walter Gropius House." People enjoying buildings worldwide. Galinsky, 2004. Web. 25 Apr 2012.
<http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/gropiushouse/index.htm>.
"Gropius House." Historic New England. Historic New England, 07/04/2012. Web. 20 Apr 2012.
<http://www.historicnewengland.org/historic-properties/homes/Gropius House/gropius-house>.
Andreas, Paul, Ingeborg Flagge, and Oscar Niemeyer. Oscar Niemeyer: Eine Legende Der Moderne = a
Legend of Modernism. Frankfurt: Deutsches Architektur Museum, 2003. Print.
Hess, Alan, and Alan Weintraub. Oscar Niemeyer Houses. New York: Rizzoli, 2006. Print.
Lejeune, Jean-François. Cruelty & Utopia: Cities and Landscapes of Latin America. New York: Princeton Archi-
tectural, 2005. Print.
Weston, Richard. Plans, Sections and Elevations: Key Buildings of the Twentieth Century. London: Lau-
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