Post on 10-Apr-2018
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Abstraction of
Form & LineBirth of Modern Architecture
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Why call
Abstraction of Form & Line?
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Based on word abstract Meaning of abstract
-Thought of as quality rather than as anobject or fact.
- Not clear
- Does not try to represent an object as itwould be seen by a camera
Architectural movement and arts during thisperiod emphasized on abstraction in achieving
good designs. Look at buildings in a new way
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What are the architectural
movements?
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(1) The Viennese Secession Movement(a) Josef Maria Olbrich Secession Building (1898)
(b) Josef Hoffmann - Purkersdorf Sanatorium (1903)
- Palais Stoclet (1905)(c) Adolf Loos - The Steiner House (1910)
(2) Elementarism
(3) Dutch De Stijl
(a) Gerrit Reitveld - Schroeder House (1924)
(4) Russian Constructivism(a) Konstantin Melnikov - USSR Pavilion at Paris (1925)
(b) Vladimir Tatlin
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(1) The Viennese
Secession Movement
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The Secession Movement
Founded in Vienna, Austria in 1897.
Instrumental in the formation were a group of
artists, such as Otto Wagner and his giftedstudents, Josef Hoffmann and Josef Olbrich,with Gustav Klimt, Koloman Moser and others
As the name indicates, this movementrepresented a protest of the youngergeneration against the traditional art of their
ancestors.
Aspired to the Renaissance of the arts andcrafts and to bring more abstract and purerforms to the designs of buildings and
furniture, glass and metalwork.
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Following the concept of total work of art Josef Maria Olbrich as the leader.
Inspiration from the English Arts and CraftsMovement and Charles Rennie Mackintoshthrough publications.
Rebellion against the over-florid style of theFrench Art Nouveau.
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The Vienna Secession promoted their designaesthetic with exhibition posters and its ownjournal, Ver Sacrum (Sacred Spring).
The journal housed reproductions, poetryillustrations, graphic art, decorative borders,
object design, and cutting-edge conceptions for
layout.
Otto Wagner, Cover for "Ver Sacrum", 1899
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(a) Josef Maria Olbrich
(b) Josef Hoffman(c) Adolf Loos
THE ARCHITECTS;
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(a) Josef Maria Olbrich
1867 1908The Secession Building (1898 1899)
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Joseph Maria Olbrich was an Austrianarchitect, co-founder of the Vienna Secessionartistic group.
In 1897, Otto Wagner, Gustav Klimt, Olbrich,Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser founded
the Vienna Secessionartistic group.
Olbrich designed their exhibition building, thefamous Secession Hall, which became the
movement's landmark.
He remains among the World's most respectedand influential architects.
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The Secession Building (1898 1899)
First architectural work of the Viennesemodernists.
It is the headquarters and exhibition centre of the
Viennese Secession Movement.
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The Secession Building (1898 1899)
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The Secession Building (1898 1899)
Josef Maria Olbrich First architectural work of the Viennese
modernists.
It is the headquarters and exhibition centre of themovement.
Skylighted interior volume framed by geometric
massing of outer walls.
Historicist allusions plus
non-historicist decorations. Symbolism of the tree of life.
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The Secession Building (1898 1899)
Josef Maria Olbrich
FRONT VIEW
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Back view
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Interior image of the original Beethoven Frieze
Interior image of the original main room asseen from the entrance
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Interior image of the original entrance to the main room
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(b) Josef Hoffmann
1870 - 1956
(i) Purkersdorf Sanatorium (1903)
(ii) Palais Stoclet (1905 1911)
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Most brilliant of Viennese decorative arts
modernist. Founder of the Weiner Werkstatte, the Viennese
equivalent of the Arts and Crafts Movement.
Post Art Nouveau architecture marked by itsexcessive cubiform vocabulary.
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(i) Purkersdorf Sanatorium (1903)
Stripped, stuccoed, cubiform box, slightly U-
shaped, opened by simple rectangular windowsand articulated only by a thin cornice.
Front view
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Front view
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Front elevation
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Interior
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(ii) Palais Stoclet (1905 1911)
Built as a palatial residence. Composed exclusively of a variety of rectilinear forms and
fragments shaped into a complex and picturesque exterior
with a dazzling array of interiors. Residence is devoid of any superfluous external
ornamentation.
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Palais Stoclet (1905 1911)
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(c) Adolf Loos
1870 - 1933The Steiner House, Vienna (1910)
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Secession architect whose aspirations are forextreme, geometric purism.
Adolf Loos gained greater notoriety for his writings
than for his buildings: Wanted an intelligently established building
method supported by reason.
Everything that could not be justified on rationalgrounds was superfluous and should beeliminated.
Recommended pure forms for economy andeffectiveness.
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Loos argued against decoration by:
Pointing to economic and historical
reasons for its development Describing the suppression of decoration
as necessary to the regulation of passion.
He believed that culture resulted from therenunciation of passions and that which brings
man to the absence of ornamentation generates
spiritual power.
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Loos attacked contemporary design
Imitative styling of the nineteenth century.
Contemporary decoration as mass-produced,mass-consumed trash.
Loos acted as a model and a seer for architectsof the 1920s. His fight for freedom from the
decorative styles of the nineteenth century led a
campaign for future architects
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The Steiner House, Vienna (1910)
Much bolder geometry especially the curved roofrising from the street faade.
A radical exercise in functionalist geometric
purism.
Front Elevation
Garden Elevation
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The Steiner House, Vienna (1910)
Point of departure from Hoffmanns PurkersdorfSanatorium.
Much bolder geometry especially the curved roof rising
from the street faade. A radical exercise in functionalist geometric purism.
Front Elevation
Garden Elevation
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Interior - ground floor
Rear corner view
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The Steiner House, Vienna(1910)
Point of departure fromHoffmanns Purkersdorf
Sanatorium.
Much bolder geometryespecially the curved roof
rising from the streetfaade.
A radical exercise infunctionalist geometricpurism.
Interior - ground floor
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Theoretical Ideas
Contemporary thought was not againstornamentation but the unnecessary andinappropriate use of it.
Dilemma of new modernists: From where and how to create new vocabulary
of ornamentation?
Loos eliminated ornamentation altogether andsubstantiated it in his 1908 essay Ornament andCrime- the evolution of culture marches with
the elimination of ornaments from useful objects. This statement would lead to the thought
development of the Italian Futurists.
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(2) Elementarism
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Art theory expounded by Theovan Doesburg of the De Stijlgroup.
Elementarism expanded thelimitations of Neoplasticism
set on artworks by PietMondrian, a leading memberof De Stijl.
"Composition with Red, Yellow, and
Blue Piet Mondrian
"Counter-Composition V, 1924, Theovan Doesburg
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Neoplasticism allowed only the depiction of flat surfaces,
straight lines, and right angles in artworks,
art should not be the reproduction of realobjects, but the expression of the absolutesof life.
To the artists way of thinking, the onlyabsolutes of life were vertical and horizontallines and the primary colours.
To this end, neoplasticisist only used planarelements and the colors red, yellow, andblue.
This neoplastic movement happened in the
1910's
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- believed that the use of inclined planes wasalso acceptable, thus making artworks achievea 3-dimensional quality.
- applied to painting and architecture to describe
the constructive use of line, plane, volume andcolour not only as the primary means of art but
as an end in itself.
Elementarism
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(3) Dutch De Stijl
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GENERAL
Influential movement in art, architecture, and designfounded in 1917 in the Netherlands.
The focus of the movement was an attempt to
simplify art to pure abstraction; form was reduced to rectangles and othergeometric shapes, while
colour was limited to the primary coloursand black and white.
The De Stijl group wanted to bring art and designtogether in a single coherent, simplified system.
Its best-known member was the abstract painter PietMondrian.
The group's main theorist and publicist was Theovan Doesburg (18831931), and his death in 1931effectively marked its end.
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The group published a journal, also called De
Stijl(The Style), which ran from 1917 to 1931. The movement has also been called
neoplasticism, from a pamphlet of that name
published by the artists in Paris in 1920.
The leading figures of De Stijl included
a) Piet Mondrian, the painter,
b) Designer, and writer Theo van Doesburg,
c) Architect Jacobus Oud (18901963), and the
d) Architect and designer Gerrit Rietveld(18881964).
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The De Stijl movement was also known asNeoplasticism.
Proponents of De Stijl sought to:Express a new Utopian ideal of spiritual
harmony and order.
Advocate pure abstraction and universalityby a reduction to the essentials of form andcolour
they simplified visual compositions tovertical and the horizontal directions
used only primary colours of red, blueand yellow along with black and white.
MAIN OBJECTIVES
EXAMPLES
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EXAMPLES
Advocate pure abstractionand universality by a
reduction to the essentials
of form and colour they simplified visual
compositions to vertical
and the horizontaldirections
used only primary colors
of red, blue and yellowalong with black and
white.Composition with Red, Yellow and Blue1921.
Piet Mondrian.
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Examples Piet Mondrian
New York City 1. Piet Mondrian.Composition No. 10. 1939-42 . Piet Mondrian.
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In architecture and art
The philosophy was based on functionalism, with asevere and doctrinaire insistence on the rectilinearity ofthe planes, which seem to slide across one another likesliding panels.
All surface decoration except color was to beeliminated, and only pure primary hues, plus black andwhite were to be allowed.
The most important thing about this group was theirideas, since they managed to build very few of theirdesigns.
One important exception is Gerrit Rietveld's SchroederHouse.
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Gerrit Rietveld
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Gerrit Rietveld
Furniture designRed, White & Blue Chair (1917)
It marked the transition between
the organic, curving Art NoveauStyle and the crisp, chic Art Deco.
The Red & Blue chair is composedout of a dramatic interplay of
straight lines to form patterns.
The lines produce form by enclosingspace, the structure has very
simple components and thestriking colors are a reminder ofpaintings by the artist Mondrian.
Although there is no upholstery, thechair is amazingly comfortable.
Gerrit Rietveld Furniture design
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Gerrit Rietveld Furniture designRed, White & Blue Chair (1917)
Gerrit Rietveld Furniture design
Zi Z Ch i (1934)
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ZigZag Chair (1934)
The Red, White & Blue Chair summarizeskind of the radical proposals of this influentialart and design movement.
It promoted simple forms and primary colorsand tried to reduce objects to their essential
form.
The ZigZag is made of four rectangular
sections of natural hardwood, intricatelydovetailed, glued and bolted together that
reveals
The chair is a pure statement of modernistseating and expresses the cantileverprinciple in a clear form.
It is spare, austere and reveals a simplicity
in abstraction
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Schroeder House,
Utrecht (1924)
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The most complete realizationof the De Stijl aesthetic.
Not only the house, but also thefurnishings and decoration wereplanned by Rietveld.
The house is a rectilinearblock made up of complex,interpenetrating planes ofwall, roof, and projecting
decks, with voids filled by glassin metal sash. Its rigorous geometries and
open-plan layout
articulated with screens andpanels of colour. form a new, so called
modernist, aesthetic.
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The Interior The (upper) main living floor is
divided by a system of slidingpanels that permitrearrangement to achievevarying degrees of openness.
Built-in and movable furniture ofRietveld's design is geometric
and abstract in concept. Only primary colors and black
are introduced within thegenerally white and gray tones
of most surfaces.
Schroeder House, Utrecht (1924)
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Sc oede ouse, Ut ec t ( 9 )Gerrit Reitveld
The most complete realization ofthe De Stijl aesthetic.
Not only the house, but also the
furnishings and decoration wereplanned by Rietveld. The house is a rectilinear block
made up of complex,interpenetrating planes of wall,roof, and projecting decks, withvoids filled by glass in metalsash.
Its rigorous geometries and
open-plan layout, articulatedwith screens and panels ofcolour, form a new, so calledmodernist, aesthetic.
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Schroeder House, Utrecht (1924)
Gerrit Reitveld
Ground floor First floor
Schroeder House, Utrecht (1924)
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Schroeder House, Utrecht (1924)
Gerrit Reitveld The most complete realization of thede Stijl aesthetic.
North East Elevation
South East Elevation
South West Elevation
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Schroeder House, Utrecht (1924)
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Sc oede ouse, Ut ec t ( 9 )
Gerrit ReitveldThe Interior
The (upper) main living floor is
divided by a system of slidingpanels that permit rearrangementto achieve varying degrees of
openness.
Built-in and movable furniture ofRietveld's design is geometric andabstract in concept.
Only primary colors and black areintroduced within the generallywhite and gray tones of mostsurfaces.
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Rietveld used the typical Stijlcolors: red, blue and yellow,combined with white, grayand black.
Living area is on the firstfloor in a flexible area.
This is why the variousrooms, with the exception of
the bathroom and thestaircase, are separatedfrom each other by loosesliding walls.
This enabled her to changethe layout of this floor inaccordance with her wishes.
Dutch De Stijl
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jSchroeder House, Utrecht (1924)
Gerrit Reitveld
The Interior
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(4) Russian Constructivism
1919 - 1932
Konstruktsiia
The development of the Design
Method
Russian Constructivism
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Russian ConstructivismKonstrukstiia The Concept Has to do with the structure of ideas, with the
construction of arguments through theassembling sequence of ideas.
Denotes a mode of thinking, a certain orderingof the process of thought.
Mechanical engineering was the basic logicalparadigm of thinking, the same way our age ofinformation uses system analysis today.
A scientific theory of the design of form ispossible through the dialectical method ofthinking by the application of mathematicalmethods of analysis.
Constructivism was born out of the 1917 RussianRevolution the embodiment of Lenins socialist
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Revolution the embodiment of Lenin s socialistideals.
Origins to be found in post-revolutionary street artforms such as large scale street art.
Authorities campaign to cover every availablesurface with inflammatory slogans and evocativeiconography.
By 1920, Inkhuk (the Institute for Artistic Culture)and Vkhutemas (Higher Artistic Technical Studios)were founded in Moscow as institutes for thecomprehensive education in art, architecture anddesign.
Before the socialist style of architecture wasformulated, experiments were made in the realmsof art and furniture design
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In particular, they experimented with building up asculpture from nothing by adding elements (such as
paper, metal etc) rather than traditional sculptureswhich were created by taking away material from asolid block (of stone, wood etc).
Gabo and Pevsner wrote the Realistic Manifestoin 1920.
Did not agree with the Soviet Constructivists that all
art must be for Marxist political purposes.
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They identified the main formal features ofConstructivist sculpture as:
planar and linear forms
dynamic composition
kinetic elements (time, movement)
minimisation of mass (space elementemphasised)
modern materials such as plastic and
electroplated metal.
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Constructivist Sculpture
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The Architects;
(a) Vladimir Tatlin(b) El Lissitzky (1890 1941)
(c) Konstantin Melnikov
(a) Vladimir Tatlin
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( )
Pioneering artist whose works shows the clearcubist influence that early constructivists worksexhibited.
Influence from Picasso, Lipschitz and
Archipenko when he visited Berlin and Paris in1913.
Having been inspired, started with collages andreliefs from metal, wood and
glass becoming one of the
first to truly develop the
constructivist style.
Tatlin "Counter Relief (Corner)" 1915
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Painter, sculptor. Passionatebeliever in the grand Communistcause.
Pioneering works began to blur theline between architecture and art.
Designed the "Monument to theThird International" in 1919-20,
which was supposed to be theUSSR's answer to the Eiffel Tower- but bigger, better... andimpossible to build so it never
was...
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(b) El Lissitzky (1890 1941)
Design produced for a Lenin
Tribune. Recognised as un-realisable.
True expression of the early
Constructivist style.
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(c) Konstantin Melnikov
One of the few constructivist whosaw his designs being realised in
the real world.USSR Pavilion at Paris 1925
Designed for the Paris
Exposition des Arts Decoratifs
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Konstantin MelnikovUSSR Pavilion at Paris 1925
Designed for the Paris Exposition desArts Decoratifs
It was revered as being a synthesis ofthe more progressive aspects of Soviet
architecture to date. It recalled not
only the traditional vernacular of thesteppes, but also those exhibition
pavillions which had been designed forthe All Russian Agricultural and Craft
Exhibition of 1923.
Interior of the building designed to
display the layout for an ideal workers
club.
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USSR Pavilion at Paris 1925
Designed for the Paris Exposition desArts Decoratifs
USSR Pavilion at Paris 1925
Designed for the Paris Exposition des
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Arts Decoratifs
Russian Constructivism
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Association of Contemporary Architects 1924
Formed after 13th Party Congress addressing issuesof poor social housing.
Josef Ginzburg as leader.
Tackled issues of communal housing with theinclusion of other expertise of sociologist and
engineers. Housing as Social Condensers.
Failure as failed to develop sufficient concreteproposals for large scale or evolution of residentialbuilding types which were needed by the socialist
state.
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THE END