22/02/10 Russia Constructivism

Ivan Leonidov’s plans communicate strong geometric forms and simplicity in design. They are beautiful and are really inspiring for my work. The graphic nature to his orthogonal drawings has a delicacy to them and an order. He does not include all the detail of the building in his plans which I think adds a quality to his work making the viewer search for clues as to how the building will be, cross referencing between plan, section and elevation.

1| Ivan Leonidov, Lenin Building, 1927, Axonometric

Malevich’s work also interests me, as he is also very graphical with his pieces. The famous Black Square is simple but gives so many messages. The monochrome aspect and the simplicity reads well. His drawings are too of a geometric form, such as examples from Kazimir Malevich’s Suprematism: 34 drawings. The detail is sparse, yet the drawings allow the imagination to take over and complete the piece.

2| Pages from Kazimir Malevich's Suprematism: 34 drawings, 1920

My project uses light and projection. I would really like to incorporate a similar method of drawing to Leonidov and Malevich’s style with my orthogonal drawings. I think this could be a really effective way of expressing my design. The projected light beam is very important in my work defining a spatial form within the site. A monochrome and graphical representation could work well. The building on my site is a secondary to the lighting pieces and so I can develop my drawings to express the nature of the light projection, its form and spatial qualities leaving the boundary of the building walls to a minimum or even not including them at all (similar to Malevich and Leonidov’s drawings reducing the detail). The geometric forms will be strong in my proposal although not defined by boundary walls, but by light projection, which can be broken at any time by the visitors to the Museum.

I am very engaged in their drawing methods and hope to use the influences to develop my drawing skills and way of presenting my work.

Image References

1| http://www.kmtspace.com/leonidov.htm

2| Tupitsky, M. Malevich and Film, 2002, Yale University Press, New Haven and London p134

01/01/10 | 1929 Mies van der Rohe 2 early masterpieces

Mies van der Rohe changed people’s perception of construction, how to use materials and piece them together in different ways. He pushed the technology and materials to the limit; he stripped everything down that wasn’t needed in the design, they were simple which help emphasise the important detailing in his pieces of architecture. He designed his first house when he was only 20 years old.

Mies van der Rohe’s architectural career started in 1908 when he was an apprentice for Peter Behrens. He worked alongside Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier concerning the current design theories at the time. In Mies’s early work many people thought it was too fictional for the time with elements such as steel geometry and large glass pieces. It is interesting to see that Mies worked mainly in plan on paper. His work features classical influences, and focuses on clean and pure elements.

1. Mies van der Rohe | The Barcelona Pavilion 1929

It was originally a temporary structure to last 9 months. It was a minimalist masterpiece and featured on the front cover of ‘Architecture’ in the 20^th century. The Pavilion was recorded with photos and drawings and 50-60 years later the pavilion was reconstructed; it was seen as a huge influence in architecture and design and became a copy of itself.

Originally Mies was asked to design furniture and walls for the interior of the industrial space of the exhibition, but he changed the brief he was given considerably and argued for a space to build a pavilion instead, which was on the edge of the exhibition site. The design and construction happened in less than one year.

The Pavilion is minimal and he designed using plan and perspective. The design consists of a strong horizontal symmetry, a contrast to the vertical symmetry seen in classical architecture he was influenced by. The use of horizontal planes breaks the space into different areas; Mies was playing with different lengths, proportions, planes and arrangements in the spatial layout. Parts of the design would disappear from certain view points due to the positioning of the walls and also the delicate nature of parts of the design.

From his preliminary sketches it can be seen that his design did not change too drastically. They show open spaces, orthogonal plains, overlapping elements and framing in the design. Mies was obsessed with detailing and experimented with materials; each part was made out of something different. For example, he used many types of glass; clear, bottle green, mouse grey, sand blast and milky white, for stone he used onyx, alpine, travertine and Greek green stone. The columns designed are beautiful and simple in appearance. Mies was very particular with the detail of the pavilion and did not want any unnecessary pieces to be there. There were no doors, and so the entrance door had to be installed and removed each night. There were no light switches and the only source of light was produced by a light well, sunlight in the day and at the night the well was lit with artificial lighting, hidden away from the pavilion; this lit up the whole space.

2. Detailing of column

3. Materials in the pavilion

4. Mies van der Rohe | Tugendhat House 1930

In 1930 Mies designed the Tugendhat House in the Czech Republic. He was working on the Tugendhat House at the same time a family; there were many similar elements to the Barcelona Pavilion apart from the difference in the site. He used a similar structure with the cross form columns with long windowpanes. The site was on a slope; the house was designed in terrace levels mainly using plan and section. There was a hierarchy in the spatial arrangement. The top level housed the bedrooms and underneath the main floor was completely open and minimal. He used plan and section to design.

5. Front exterior of the house

The exterior of the biding is very deceiving when you approach the building. It is long and thin and you would not know the excitement behind. The entrance is a courtyard, framing the view of the landscape. The purity and open space in the house were so different to the houses at the time. Mies was very interested in materiality and detail as seen with the Barcelona Pavilion. The family were encouraged to buy an Onyx wall, which at the time cost the same as a middle class house. Everything in the house relates or has a relationship with each other, for example, the locks of the doors, the chair legs and the columns are all chrome and match.

He used Charcoal to sketch. They look really beautiful and are very easy to read. The simple lines portray so much. This is really inspiring for me and I would like to think about using a similar method o draw. I am looking at light and projection and so the contrast between the charcoal and the paper would work. The charcoal would be a good medium to use as it can help define a light beam and also help create a smoky atmosphere within a drawing.

His obsession with detail is amazing. He is so particular about every part to the design, this is great to see and learn about as it inspires me to think even more about the detailing and the reason behind each element of the design. The light well he used in the Barcelona Pavilion to light up the whole place is a good thought, during the night when it is dark, lighting up the light well with artificial lighting a very detailed thought allowing the space inside the pavilion to be free of any artificial lighting, which would then completely change the atmosphere and purity of the design. This is very interesting and has made me think differently to the lighting in my project. I don’t want to use any artificial ceiling or wall lights in my design so thinking of alternatives to the solution is important.

Image Reference

1. http://figure-ground.com/data/mies_pavilion/0013.jpg

2. http://www.srperrin.co.uk/Bacelona_Pavilion/Barcelona_Pavilion_Images/Barcelona_Pavilion_07.jpg

3. http://www.srperrin.co.uk/Bacelona_Pavilion/Barcelona_Pavilion_Images/Barcelona_Pavilion_09.jpg

4. http://lh6.ggpht.com/organonarchitecture/R58I4B2GHcI/AAAAAAAABaI/xQjV7IP19VI/tugendhat-CRTugen1930deSandalo_thumb

5. http://www.arquitectura.com/arquitectura/monografias/notas/casa_tugendhat/image024.jpg

25/01/10 | Modernist Theories and Dogma The Rise of Le Corbusier

A new way of thinking about Space.

Technology and construction was changing the method of designing and making. For example constructing a large concrete and steel edifice above an ornamental, decorative façade.

Le Corbusier designed his own education; he was self-taught. He started to draw from an early age and traveled around Europe increasing his inspiration. He worked in Peter Behrens practise with Walter Grupious and Mies van der Rohe. He was surrounded by technological influences in design, which in return influenced him.

In Le Corbusier early work he designed a Swiss house in Switzerland: it is a very traditional house influenced by what he was reading and seeing at the time. He taught and wrote a lot about architecture and design and the new methods and possibilities for architecture.

He designed the Domino System (Domestic innovation) which was a simple framework out of concrete. It consists of a simple block foundation and pillars to hold up each floor, allowing the design to not be restricted by height. There was no need for structural walls, which gave more freedom to the way buildings could be designed, and allowing for more inventive materials to be experimented with, such as large glass walls.

1. Le Corbusier | The Domino System

France | Purism

A movement in France from 1918-1925 rejecting the decorative friend of cubism and encouraging the simple formats of the machine age.

Le Corbusier used to paint in the morning and design in the afternoon, his work relates to the De Stijl movement with use of orthogonal lines, colour and off balance symmetry. He worked on many different scales and wrote about art and architecture in L’Espirit Nouveau. He redesigned the perfect city, ordering the roads and buildings.

His early works were unknown. He was finding new ways of organising space, using materials and the construction, which is now seen all the time.

2. Le Corbusier | Pavilion de l'espirit Nouveau 1925

The space is very organised; each space is allocated and holds a different spatial quality. He used double height rooms, which was fresh at the time; he wanted to suggest new ways of living. He presented ideas, which were completely stripped down and had little decoration. He mixed the plane and shipping industry with the domestic, housing industry.

To design the perfect house he designed 4 different types of house.

1 Design the house from inside out.

2 A rigid, pure form

3 Design with a visible framework and a transparent network.

4 He mixed the three types together to generate a new space, seen in the Villa Savoye.

Other houses he designed:

Maison La Roche 1923

A cellular organised manner. This was very cinematic.

Ozenfant Studio 1926

He used the domino effect, with large glass windows. The roof is an industrial double peak. There was lots of natural wall and ceiling light. He designed he house from the point of view of the camera lens.

Maison Cook 1926

He first used the 5 points of architecture

1 the pilotis

2 the toit jardin

3 the plain libre

4 the fenere de longeur

5 the façade libre

He used double/triple heights in the rooms to give a sense of free space.

Villa Stein de Monzre

His scale of work was increasing and becoming more graphic. He used geometric patterns to define the geometric pattern; the golden section.

Villa Savoye 1928

Consisted of clean, pure forms.

It was a statement of Le Corbusier as a designer.

Image Reference

1. http://www.tecnologos.it/Articoli/articoli/numero_010/03concrete/14concrete.gif

2. http://www.retropolis.net/exposition/corbusier3.jpg