A532—History of Architecture and Interiors IV



A532—History of Architecture and Interiors IV

Case Study—Visual Analysis and Research Project

Suzanne Singletary

Spring 2006

Architecture in the twentieth century has been characterized by a rich variety of styles. Responding to ever-changing political and social conditions, as well as to technological advances, architects have sought solutions to the problem of redefining building and design to reflect the modern age. Furthermore, there has been a rewarding cross-fertilization between the visual arts and architecture. Close study of significant works by innovative architect/designers is an invaluable method in understanding the concerns and thought processes of these modern masters. For your project topic, choose one of the following buildings by a designer who particularly interests you to serve as your case study and complete the following steps:

Step 1—Project Choice: Due January 24

Submit a typed sheet with your name, class time and three project choices in the

order of preference (#1=first choice). Choice is upon approval of the professor.

Every effort will be made to accommodate one of your choices.

Recommended Project Choices:

Adolf Loos, Scheu House, Vienna, 1912

Charles Rennie Macintosh, Windyhill, Glasgow, 1899-1902

Victor Horta, Maison du Peuple, Brussels, 1896-99

Antoni Gaudi, Church of the Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, begun 1884

Frank Lloyd Wright, Unity Temple, Oak Park, Illinois, 1906

Frank Lloyd Wright, Aline Barnsdall House, “Hollyhock House,” Los Angeles,

California, 1917

Greene and Greene, Blacker House, Pasadena, California, 1907

Le Corbusier, Maison Ozenfant, Paris, 1923

Le Corbusier, Swiss Pavilion, Cité Universaire, Paris, 1931-32

J.J. P. Oud, Worker’s Housing, Hook of Holland, Netherlands, 1927

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Tugendhat House, Brno, 1930

E.G. Asplund, Stockholm City Library, Stockholm, 1921-28

Alvar Aalto, Finnish Pavilion at Paris World’s Fair, 1937

Walter Gropius, Gropius House, Lincoln, Mass., 1938

Rudolf Schindler, Lovell Beach House, Newport Beach, California, 1925-26

Hans Scharoun, Schminke House, Lubau, Germany, 1933

Eileen Gray, House known as E1027, Cap Martin, Roquebrune, 1926-9

Richard Buckminster Fuller, Dymaxion House, 1929

Richard Neutra, House for Philip Lovell, Los Angeles, California, 1927-27

Le Corbusier, The Shodhan House, Ahmedabad, India, 1951-56

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, The Farnsworth House, Plano, Illinois, 1945-50

Louis Kahn, Margaret Esherick House, Philadelphia, PA, 1959-61

Louis Kahn, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn., 1951-53

Bruce Goff, The Bavinger House, Norman, Oklahoma, 1950-55

Marcel Breuer, Breuer House I, New Canaan, Conn., 1947

Luis Barragán, Casa Antonio Galvez, San Angel, Mexico, 1954

Luis Barragán, Barragán House, Tacubaya, Mexico City, 1947

Oscar Niemeyer, Niemeyer House, Gávea, Rio de Janiero, 1953

Jørn Utzon, Sidney Opera House, Sidney, Australia, 1957-73

Carlo Scarpa, Querini Stampalia Foundation, Venice, 1961-3

Carlo Scarpa, Brion Tomb, San Vito d’Altivole, Treviso, 1969-78

Charles Correa, Gandi Ashram Memorial Museum, Almadabad, India, 1958-63

Balkrishna Dosi, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, India, 1977-85

Eliadio Dieste, Catholic Church of Altanido, Uruguay, 1958

Richard Meier, High Museum, Atlanta, GA, 1965-67

Venturi and Rauch, Trubek and Wislocki Houses, Nantucket, Mass., 1971-72

Venturi, Rauch and Scott Brown, Gordon Wu Hall, Princeton University, 1983

Frank O.Gehry, Schnabel House, Brentwood, CA, 1990

Frank O.Gehry, California Aesospace Museum and Theater, 1982-84

Frank O. Gehry, Vitra International Furniture Manufacturing Facility and Museum,

Weil am Rhein, Germany, 1986-89

Michael Graves, Schulman House, Princeton, New Jersey, 1974-75

Tadao Ando, Koshino House, Hyogo, Japan, 1979-81

Tadao Ando, Meditation Space, UNESCO, Paris, France, 1994-95

Raphael Moneo, National Museum of Roman Art, Mérida, Spain, 1980-86

Raphael Moneo, Royal and General Archives of Pamlona, Spain, 2004

Judith Chafee, Ramada House, Tuscon, Arizona, 1980

Zaha Hadid, Vitra Fire Station, Weil am Rhein, Germany, 1988-89

Rem Koolhaus, Grand Palais, Lille, France, 1990-94

Rem Koolhaus, Seattle Central Library, Seattle, Washington, 2004

Sverre Fehn, Norsk Bremuseum, Fjaerland, Norway, 1991

Peter Eisenman, Max Reinhardt Haus, Berlin Germany, 1995

Eric Own Moss, Lawson-Weston House, Los Angeles, CA, 1988-93

Santiago Calatrava, Lyon-Satolas Railway Station, Lyon, France, 1989-94

I.M. Pei, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, Ohio, 1993-95

Hans Hollein, Frankfurt Museum of Modern Art, Frankfurt/Main, Germany, 1982-90

Arata Isozaki, Nagi MoCA, Nagi-cho, Okayama, Japan, 1992-94

Frank Israel, Art Pavilion, Beverly Hills, CA, 1991

Antoine Predock, American Heritage Center, Laramie, Wyoming, 1987-93

Bart Prince, Mead/Penhall Residence, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1992-93

Renzo Piano, JM Tjibaou Cultural Center, New Caledonia, 1991

Glenn Murcutt, Ball-Eastaway House, Glenorie, New South Wales, 1980-83

Steven Holl, Stretto House, Dallas, Texas, 1992

Yoshio Taniguchi, Museum of Modern Art, New York City, 2004

Step 2—Preliminary Bibliography: February 7

Submit a typed sheet with your name, project topic

and preliminary bibliography of at least eight published sources, submitted in

Chicago-style format. Your bibliography must include at least one journal

article. (Consult Avery Index.) Websites should be consulted primarily to obtain

orthographic, axonometric or other visuals and are not considered scholarly

sources. Include visuals with your bibliography

Michael Krasulski is the liaison for the School of Architecture and Design. You

should consult him with any problems in obtaining sources, including

Interlibrary Loan.

Step 3—Thesis and Outline: Due March 2

Part 1—Introductory Paragraph and Thesis

• A thesis normally comes at the end of the introductory paragraph and tells the reader what you are attempting to prove in your paper. A good paper is a well-reasoned argument whose logic is developed point by point throughout the paper. A thesis introduces your argument and is a guide to the organization of topics within the body of the paper.

• Formulate a thesis based upon your research and your visual analysis. Explore key philosophical, technological/structural, and formal concerns of the architect and the ways these concerns are expressed in this building. Investigate contextual issues and how issues raised by case study fit into larger architectural or cultural trends.

• The thesis must be threaded throughout the paper. Each major part of the paper (the Case Study has 3 parts) and every topic sentence within each part (a topic sentence is the first sentence of each paragraph) should discuss some aspect of your thesis. Similarly, each paragraph in your paper should build logically from the previous one. At the end of the paper you should have thoroughly explored the ideas contained in your general thesis and proven your thesis with evidence presented in your visual and contextual analyses.

• The thesis is your guide and is critically important to the success of your paper! Therefore, take time in formulating your thesis, based upon careful research.

Part II—Case Study Research

• Research the broad context of the case study, including historical events, cultural trends and/or changes that help to locate the case study within a specific time period and geographic region.

• Identify the broad issues that concern architects living during this period that may have impacted the design of the case study, such as role of structure/technology, ornament, political ideologies, patterns of patronage, growth of city/industrialization, etc.

• What are the architect’s major concerns—philosophical, formal, structural, etc. Is the architect part of a larger group with shared concerns?

• Where does this building fit into the architect’s oeuvre (early, middle, late)? (A biographical overview is not appropriate to this paper.)

• Discuss any sources or influences upon the architect in the design of the case study, such a key theorists, literary or philosophical movements, past architects, etc.

• Consult primary sources to obtain relevant information. Refer to at least one treatise written by the architect or an interview with the architect.

Part III—Visual Analysis of building and site

• Write a detailed visual analysis of the building. Deal with each point listed under Architecture in the handout, “Visual Analysis of Works of Art” (plan configuration, plan organization, structure, elevation, section, axon, site and experience of space). The order of these topics will be determined by your thesis which should include specific design principles and compositional strategies found in this building that express a concern of the architect.

• Submit your visual analysis in extended outline form along with copies of relevant plans and diagrams. (Outline will not be accepted without the appropriate visuals.)

Part IV—Consider the relationship between the building and architect and the

visual arts. Artists and architects from the same chronological periods

tend to share the same “zeitgeist” or world view, expressing parallel

concerns though in vastly different mediums.

• Choose a painting or sculpture from the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Modern collection that is related to the work of your architect formally and/or conceptually. The choice should not be made based upon superficial visual resemblances (for example both are symmetrical or both have parts that are red), but rather similar responses to a shared historical moment. (Approval of professor is mandatory before completing this section.)

• Research the artist, his/her philosophy and style.

• Write a detailed visual analysis by referring to handout, “Visual Analysis of Works of Art.” Include relevant compositional diagrams and a photograph or drawing of the painting or sculpture.

• Discuss philosophical parallels between artist and architect.

Mandatory Visits to Learning Center: Before Outline due date (March 2)

Before Paper due date (April 11)

The Learning Center is an invaluable resource in writing this paper. Make an appointment to have someone review your thesis/outline and help you in organizational issues before you submit it. Schedule an appointment to work on your final essay before submission. Two visits are required, but you may want to schedule additional meetings as appropriate. The Learning Center will inform me of your visits.

Step 4—Final Version: Paper Due April 11; Completed Project Due April 21

• Requirements: Incorporate changes suggested by your professor, the Learning Center or improvements that may have occurred to you since the outline. Use this to create a coherent series of well-organized, clear essays:

Part I—Introductory Paragraph and Thesis: approximately one typed page,

double spaced, 12 point type

Part II—Research: approximately three types pages, double-spaced, 12 point

type.

Part III—Visual Analysis: approximately two typed pages, double-spaced, 12

point type.

Part IV—Visual Arts: approximately two typed pages, double-spaced, 12 point

type.

• Part V—Presentation:

1. Your project must be presented in a hand-made accordion style book format and be 11 X 14 inches. Paper should be placed within a pocket designated for this purpose.

2. All drawings are to be done directly on boards or attached to boards! This includes the required plan, elevation, section, and axon plus all compositional diagrams relevant to the building or painting/sculpture. Include a photograph or drawing of building and painting/sculpture.

3. All visuals must be numbered and labeled and be coordinated with the text.

4. Pay attention to layout, line quality and lettering! (Hand lettering requires guidelines.)

5. Cover design should be visually dynamic and reflect the style of the building. You will be graded on the creativity and professionalism of your presentation. (Presentation will be worth 25% of the total grade)

Deadlines: Preliminary submissions and the final submission must be in no later than the due date. Late submissions will be accepted only in documented cases of emergency.

Evaluation Criteria:

• Demonstrated understanding of the visual elements and of the design principles of the work of art/architecture and their role in expressing the dominant underlying idea as expressed in a clearly developed thesis

• Ability to analyze the formal and spatial characteristics of a work of art/architecture

• Ability to see the relationship of the parts to each other and to the whole.

• Logical organization and development of the parts to each other and to the whole in proving the thesis

• Clarity of sentence and paragraph structure. Correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling

• Appropriate citations

• Process and completeness

• Ability to work independently and to confer with professor as appropriate

• Craftsmanship and professionalism in presentation

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