Last Trends in Architecture

Revision

Introduction

• Since mid 20th century Architecture has experience great change.

• The increasing interest in urban planning– not only involves the construction of the buildings

themselves, but – it also asked for its inclusion in an area and in

consonance with deep studies of their physical, social and economic impact.

• The development of new and revolutionary materials has made possible the creation of some buildings that in a recent past would have been unthinkable.

Innovative Architecture

• It combines the imagination of the architects and engineers with the aesthetic impact of materials such as reinforced concrete.

• Structural solutions are revolutionary and, in addition to use industrial materials– they created sophisticates

spaces through the distribution of light and

– the use of materials not frequent in architecture, underlining their tactile qualities.

Innovative Architecture

• The pioneer of this architecture would be Alvar Aalto. Other architects working in this way are Eero Saarinen, Nervi, Utzon or Kahn.

• Their sign of identity is the use of industrial material to solve difficult structural problems.

International Style

• It has its roots in the works of the Bauhaus and it developed in the US thanks to the influence of Mies van der Rohe and his disciples.

• It is well suited to large metropolitan apartment and office towers.

• These building proved to have a commercial potential and were extremely efficient for large-scale construction in which the module could be repeated indefinitely.

International Style

• Inner spaces became standardized, predictable, and profitable and exterior reflected the monotony of the interiors.

• The blank glass box became ubiquitous.

• These buildings are considered examples of an austere classicism, but also coldly impersonal.

• Architects working in this style are Stirling, Kenzo Tange, or Philip Johnson.

Post-modern Architecture

• Between about 1965 and 1980 architects and critics began to espouse tendencies resulting in a style that is not cohesive but that has a distinct set of principles.

• Postmodernists value– individuality, – intimacy, – complexity and – occasionally even humour.

Post-modern Architecture

• Some architects, such as Venturi, defended an architecture that can produce any kind of buildings, ( filling stations or fast-food restaurants).

• Some works have references to old style and can use vivid colours.

• Other architects of this movement are Graves, Meier, Jahn or Moore.

High-Tech

• The High-Tech style came to prominence in the 1970s and 1980s.• Representatives of this movement are the architects Richard

Rogers, Renzo Piano and Norman Foster. • Its origins lie in the 19th century when new industrial techniques and

materials, previously used on engineering projects such as bridges, began to be applied to architecture.

High-Tech• High-Tech buildings

– are typically constructed of steel and glass,

– make innovative use of technology and are often likened in appearance to the machines

– draw attention to structural and functional elements.

• Postmodernism is not the major strand in the most recent avant-garde architecture.

• High-Tech makes expressive use of the constructional and operational aspects of a building, with features such as supporting members or heating pipes fully exposed to view.

Deconstructivism

• Deconstructivism is the term used to characterize buildings in which elements such as – fractured forms or– warped planes

undermine conventional notions of stability and harmony.

Deconstructivism

• The works of Frank Gehry or Zaha Hadid can be considered good examples of this style.