art history

Seagram Building . New York City, U.S. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson (architects). 1954-1958 C.E. Steel frame with glass curtain wall and bronze. One of the most important buildings in the history of architecture in the United States; buildings like these designed since the 20s; never had designed an office building before; end of war, the depression; largest liquor company at the time; bronze; based off Greek architecture; symmetrical, disciplined aesthetic; looking to balance old and new; play of light and shadow; textured; Mies constantly referenced antiquity; new architectural experience for the people of New York; is it alienating or welcoming?  Reflection of Minimalist movement in painting; simplicity, geometry, elegance; reflective surface; interplay of vertical and horizontal accents; steel and glass skyscraper, common after WWII

Fallingwater . Pennsylvania, U.S. Frank Lloyd Wright (architect). 1936–1939 C.E. Reinforced concrete, sandstone, steel, and glass. Perched above a mountain cataract on a rocky hillside deep in the rugged forest of Southwestern Pennsylvania, some 90 minutes from Pittsburgh, is America’s most famous house.  After this late-career triumph, the sixty-seven year old would go on to create a series of highly original designs that would validate his claim as “The world’s greatest architect.” The mid-1930s were among the darkest years for architecture and architects in American history; the country’s financial system had collapsed with the failure of hundreds of banks.  Almost no private homes were built. Many of the architectural projects started during the boom of the late 1920s were halted for lack of funds.  Wright further emphasizes the connection with nature by liberal use of glass; the house has no walls facing the falls, only a central stone core for the f...

Villa Savoye. Poissy‐sur‐Seine, France. Le Corbusier (architect). 1929 C.E. Steel and reinforced concrete. The Villa Savoye at Poissy, designed by Le Corbusier in 1929, represents the culmination of a decade during which the architect worked to articulate the essence of modern architecture. Throughout the 1920s, Le Corbusier considered the nature of modern life and architecture’s role in the new machine age.  Located just outside Paris, the Villa Savoye offered an escape from the crowded city for its wealthy patrons.  Its location on a large unrestricted site allowed Le Corbusier total creative freedom. The delicate floating box that he designed is both functional house and modernist sculpture, elegantly melding form and function. Le Corbusier lavished praise on the totems of modernity—race cars, airplanes, and factories—marveling at the beauty of their efficiency.  During the 1920s, Le Corbusier designed a series of houses which allowed him to develop his ...