The Modern Movement. 8. September Eli Støa

Transcription

1 The Modern Movement 8. September Eli Støa

2 Historical and social context Background Industrialisation, urbanisation, speculation, poor housing conditions for workers Housing reform movement Garden City movement First world war Inflation, unemployment, housing shortage The second industrial revolution )

3 The second industrial revolution Organisation, management and increasing efficiency of production processes (Taylorism) Division of labor and specialisation Private cars Electrification of homes New consumer commodities

4 Ford fixed in our minds the reciprocal concepts of mass production and mass consumption (Rowe, 1993:9)

5 Norway Electric light (1905) Bathroom and wc installed at the royal palace in Kristiania (1906) First electric vakuum cleaner, wqshing machines and refrigerators (ca. 1910) Central heating became customary in middle/upper class villas ( ) Ca cars in Norge in % the population live in houses with electricity (1920) (against 37 % in USA and 17 % in Sweden) First deep freezed foods at the marked (1928) First electric stove produced in Norway (1920-tallet)

6 Ideological basis Break with history A rational approach to architecture Social agenda Standardisation / mass productio n Functionalism: a new aesthetic (After Rowe, 1993)

7 «A new era» modern man, who no longer dresses in historical garments but wears modern clothes, needs a modern (architecture) appropriate to him and his time (W. Gropius in Conrads, 1964:95) A new comprehension of the home: From an increasing homecentredness after industrialisation to the avant gardists dissociation with the introversion of the bourgeouis home sphere s

8 Foto: Rolness, 1995

9

10 A new comprehension of the home Le Corbusier wanted to replace: (the) sentimental hysteria surrounding the cult of the home, with a more rational approach to dwellings as machines for living The modernist aesthetic is quite antagonistic to the idea of the home as a refuge of privacy and an assertion of individual or family identity expressed in the knick knacks on the shelves, the antimacassars on the airmchairs, the filmy curtains at the windows, the screen before the fireplace. (Morley, 2001)

11 Other aspects of modernism s break with history Individual freedom A new aesthetic «Ornament and Crime» (Adolf Loos, 1910) A new comprehension of space A new era a new spirit Freedom from history. tradition and place Adolf Loos: Goldman and Salatsch haberdashery shop in Vienna (1898)

12 A rational approach Nature was known by its parts, but not as a whole. Similarly, urban functions could be identified and improved, according to the management principles of Ford and Taylor, and then effectively reorganized in time and space (Rowe, 1993:162)

13 Rationality Le Corbusier(1932): Apartment for 4 people (56 m2) based on Biological unit (cell) of 14 m2

14 Christine Frederick used Taylors principles when designing the dwelling in Scientific Mangement of the Home (1912)

15 Die Frankfurter Küche Designed by Grete Schülte-Lihotsky (1926) 1,87 x 3,44 m (6 m2). Laboratory kitchen, consisting of specialized prefabricated units Work- and place efficient equipment: sink, foldable ironing table, waste container etc Approx such kitchens were installed in the New Frankfurt

16 Die neue sachlichkeit Blocks of flats oriented northsouth in order to have similar and optimal and similar sunlight conditions for all Rational production Scientific functionalism (Ill. T. Brantenberg, 1996)

17 Scientific basis for architecture Architecture was to have a firm scientific basis, but more than that, it was to take its inspiration from the rationalism and experimentation of sciences (Rowe, 1993:45)

18 Social agenda Improved living conditions for the working class Universal criteria for housing quality Physiological, psychological, social medicin The minimum dwelling: wohnung für das existenzminimum (CIAM 1929)

19 Universal housing norms Physiological needs: thermal comfort, light, air, recreation Psychological needs: privacy, aesthetics satisfaction, attending social standards Social medicine: protection against pollution, public security, crime prevention.. (Rowe, 1993)

20 The minimum house was seen as a social tool indispensable to the new era ( ) it embodied an appeal for scientific certainty to overcome customs of tradition (Le Corbusier, 1964 i Rowe, 1993:57)

21 Standardisation / mass production Le Corbusier s Domino-structure (1914)

22 Standardisation / mass production Le Corbusiers Citrohan module (1920)

23 Standardisation / mass production Le Corbusiers Citrohan module (1920)

24 Standardisation / mass production Quartier Modernes Fruges, Pessac, Le Corbusier (1923)

25 Standardisation / mass production Quartier Modernes Fruges, Pessac, Le Corbusier (1923)

26 Functionalism a new aesthetic Man snakket om en ny tidsånd, og funksjonalismen passet inn i lengselen etter å virkeliggjøre drømmen om det gode liv. Som en reaksjon på første verdenskrigs kaos, kunne den forenklede rene stilen tilby en etterlengtet orden. Idealet var klare arkitektoniske rammer med praktisk, funksjonell form, og et interiør med møbler som formalt var i harmoni med huset (Findal, 2007:24) ) «One talked about a new era and a new spirit, and functionalism fitted well into the yearning to fulfill «the dream of the good life». As a reaction of the first ww s chaos, the simplified, clean style could offer a longed for order. The ideal was clear, functional architecture, and an interior where the furniture was in harmony with the house» (Findal, 2007:24)

27 Functionalism a new aesthetic De fysiske omgivelsenes presise, enhetlige form understøttet ideene om en moderne måte å leve på, og var et uttrykk for hverdagens vidunderlighet (Findal, 2007:24) «The presise, uniform aesthetics supported the ideas of a modern way of life, and was an expression of the «woderful everyday life»» (Findal, 2007:24)

28 Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret: Villa La Roche, Paris 1925 (Foto: Findal, 2007)

29 Foto: Davies, 2006

30 Foto: Findal, 2007

31 Foto: Findal, 2007

32 Foto: Davies, 2006

33

34 The functionalist doctrine 4 elements: Integrity and usability of materials Expression of new construction technology and production methods Efficient use and organising of buildings Propagation of a new spatial order free from references to the past (Rowe, 1993:43)

35 ..a new spatiality Adolf Loos: a new open and vertical organisation in which the rooms were connected by a centrally located staircase Le Corbusier: promenade architecturale an architectural walk through the house, det å kunne bevege seg opp gjennom etasjene, ha skiftende utsyn og innblikk i husets forskjellige sone «to be able to move between the various floors, having shifting views and glimpses of the different zones in the house» (Findal, 2007:28)

36 A. Loos: Moller Haus, Wien, 1928

37 Plan 1.etg A. Loos: Moller Haus, Wien, 1928 (Siktlinjer og foto: Colomina, 2005)

38 A. Loos: Müller house, Prague (1930) Fotos: Colomina, 2005 og Davies, 2006

39 A new aesthetic the inherent logic of new materials and construction techniques avoid all unnecessary and superficial elements (absence of decoration) Simple lines, primary colors, clear geometrical forms contrast to the surrounding nature (abstraction)

40 Le Corbusier s five principles for a new architecture Pilotis Roof terrasses Open plans Open fasades Horisontal window bands

41 made possible by help av new construction techniques Villa Tugendhat, Brno ( ) Mies van der Rohe Foto: Davies, 2006

42

43 Cases - modernism Kiefhoek ( ) Rotterdam Ark: J.J.P Oud (City architect) Villa Savoye (1929), Poissy Le Corbusier Farnsworth house ( ), Illinois Mies van der Rohe Römerstadt ( ), Frankfurt-am-main Ark: Ernst May (byplansjef) m fl Onkel Toms Hütte ( ) Berlin, Bruno Taut et al Bellavista (1934), Klampenborg, Arne Jacobsen

44 Questions for discussion What are the typical modernist elements of the project? Which of these elements are still relevant (valid?) in the architectural debate today? Are there some elements that are not particularly modern? What are the main qualities of the project as you see it? What were the main qualities at the time it was built? Are there any problematic aspects of this project as you see it?