Belgium: 'Living' architecture

Art Nouveau or Jugendstil was a style of art inspired by natural organic forms and curves. Its beginnings can be traced back to a graphic produced by a Czech artist, Alphonse Mucha for a local ad. It went on to influence various forms of decorative arts, furniture design and architecture.

Gismonda by Alphonse Mucha in 1894. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/

Along with the Arts and Crafts Movement, these artists and designers rejected industrial mass production in favour of individualistic and stylised hand crafted art and design. Victor Horta and Antoni Gaudi are the most well known architects from the Art Nouveau period.

Victor Horta

Victor Horta, a Belgian architect is credited for being the first to introduce the style into architecture. Hotel Tassel at Brussels, built in 1900 is considered among the finest examples of the Art Nouveau Movement in architecture.

Front Facade of Hotel Tassel, Source: http://openbuildings.com/

The extensive use of traditional materials like stone along with modern materials like iron and glass make for spectacular visuals, both inside and outside the buildings. 

Stone, Iron, Glass. Source: Source: http://photos.bruxelles5.info/

Entrance to Hotel Tassel, Source: www.flickr.com

The hotel design is a combination of Baroque and Classical elements built around a free flowing plan, brought to life by highly innovative, detailed iron tendrils and exotic tapestry. Every detail in the interior seems to flower and flow out into the walls, columns and pillars while extending into each other. There is a unity between architecture, interior and furniture elements.

Wall decoration and Lights at Hotel Tassel in Brussels, Belgium
Source: http://www.belltowndesign.com/

Stepping into the hotel makes the visitor feel like he stepped into the 3D version of the colors and patterns on a 2D canvas of an intricate and vibrant painting, twirling and translating itself into every object around!

Main Stairway on the ground floor in Hotel Tassel,
Source: http://www.studyblue.com/

View from the Ground Floor
Source: http://photos.bruxelles5.info/

Intricate iron detailing in staircase juxtaposed
with mosaic patterns
Source: http://photos.bruxelles5.info

Iron Pillar breaks out into patterns
that extend into the ceiling
Source: www.flickr.com

Another prominent example is Victor Horta's House at Brussels, Belgium. 

The front facade, Victor Horta House
Source: http://www.bluffton.edu/

View across Stairway at Victor Horta's House
Source: http://www.flickr.com

Stairwell at Victor Horta's House in Brussels
Source: http://seb89.wordpress.com/

The open plan and sections in these projects show the influence of the Art Nouveau Movement in the shaping of Modern Architecture. 

Post war, the popularity of expensive organic detailing gave way to more simple modern structures. Many buildings in the Art Nouveau style were demolished. The open planning and use of latest building techniques took the next step with the dawn of the Modern era. 

Staircase detail inside House of the People built 1896-99 in Brussels by Victor Horta
(demolished in 1965)
Source: http://www.cupola.com/

US: Less is Bore

Modernism in art and architecture was all about simplicity. Austerity and lack of decoration were integral to the movement. The style was well-suited to the concept of mass production brought in by the Industrial Revolution.

The modern works of Pablo Picasso and Piet Mondrian, the Chicago School structures of Louis Henry Sullivan and the philosophy laid down by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Adolf Loos influenced every form of art through the 19th and 20th century.

The Chicago Federal Center by  Ludwig Mies van der Rohe completed in 1973
Source: www.gsa.gov/

Post Modernism

After a few decades though, strict adherence to Modernism was often considered to be bland or lacking meaning or character. This paved way for Post Modernism starting in the 1960's, which blended numerous traditional and contemporary styles with Modernism.  This marked a sharp departure from the "Less is More" policy advocated by Modernist Ludwig Mies van der Rohe to a period of "Less is Bore" as defined by Robert Venturi in his 1966 book, Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture. 

The AT&T Building built in the heart of New York City by Philip Johnson (1984) is a prominent example of the style. Linear, modern in style, the building is topped by an outrageous pink-granite Georgian pediment! The building, currently owned by Sony was auctioned to the Chetrit Group for a record $1.1 billion and is expected to be given landmark status.

The AT&T Building, New York by Philip Johnson, © Janani Rajagopalan

Closer view of  the Georgian pediment atop the AT&T building

Michael Graves designed the iconic 15-storey Portland Building completed in 1982. Its vibrant use of colour with historical referencing along with use of classical elements redefined commercial Modernism and marked the reintroduction of Classicism in Architecture. Above the front entrance, Graves designed and added a statue in hammered copper call "Portlandia" in 1985. 

The Portland Building designed by Michael Graves, completed in 1982.
Source: http://www.dezeen.com/

The colourful and decorative Swan and Dolphin Resorts is another prominent example that sports two 56-ft dolphins along with water cascades. The slanted coral coloured building is topped by 47-ft swans along with the waves drawing visual references from Florida.

Turquoise and coral  coloured outlandish forms, the Swan and Dolphin Resorts,
Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida
Source: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/

Pop art imagery and swan statues, Source: http://www.wdwinfo.com

Hand painted murals decorating the facade, Source: http://disneyvacationkingdom.blogspot.in/

Most of his buildings were designed to entertain and make people smile when they entered the building. Every building carried an underlying element of humour and fun and was meant to surprise. The Seven Dwarfs replacing the columns in the Walt Disney Team Building in Brubank, California take the humour element of Post Modernism to an all new level!

The Team Disney Building, California designed by Michael Graves.
Source: http://www.michaelgraves.com/

Graves brought his style into product design in the form of a kettle designed for the Italian house ware maker Alessi.

The Alessi Whistling Bird Tea Kettle designed by Michael Graves
Source: http://grshop.com/

Netherlands: The Mondrian touch

With the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, the culture of mass production came into existence. Burgeoning demand for housing and affordable furniture created the perfect environment for standardized, clean line and simple design where form followed utility

The Modernist Movement was brought in by the influence of the Bauhaus School, writings and work of Adolf Loos and the Dutch influence of Piet Mondrian and the de Stijl Movement. They ushered in a form of expression founded in geometry and color using simple elements like straight lines along with  black, greys and white, juxtaposed with primary colors. 

The Bauhaus School of Germany was symbolic of the harmony between function and form of a building
Source: http://www.bauhaus.co.il

Adolf Loos openly condemned any form of decoration as "degeneration of civilization"
Source: http://img.radio.cz/

Ornamentation and individualistic decoration of the Victorian and Gothic Styles were shunned for an abstract interpretation of ideas like universality, liberation and spirituality.

Piet Mondrian's horizontal and vertical form of expression
Source: http://www.mondriantrust.com/

After 1900, the Movement redefined art by rejecting reproduction of visually perceived reality or capturing reality as it is. The cool, minimal and restrained expression can be best understood through Piet Mondrian's vertical and horizontal expression and Theo van Doesberg's diagnol form of expression.  The idea was to express liberation and spirituality in an objective way without any ornamentation. 

Counter Composition VI by Theo van Doesberg, completed in 1925
Source: http://www.wikipaintings.org

Composition of Red Yellow and Blue by Piet Mondrian, 1921
Source: http://a1reproductions.com

They influenced design in every form: be it Architecture, Fashion or Furniture Design. Gerrit Rietveld's Schroder House built in 1924 came to be known as a 3D Interpretation of a Mondrian Painting. 

Schroder House, Utrecht, Gerrit Rietveld, 1924. Source: http://www.archdaily.com

Every element in the interior is detailed out to follow de Stijl principles

Open interior spaces, color coded according to utility

Gerrit Rietveld's Red and Blue Chair is also a powerful expression of this style. Though uncomfortable to sit on, the linear interpretation was first of its kind and is still admired world over. 

The Red and Blue Chair by Gerrit Rietveld, 1917.
Photo: http://pinkappledesigns.co.uk

By the late 1930's Hitler attacked Paris and later London. Hence, Mondrian left Europe for America in 1940. The austere black lines that Mondrian painted in the war-hit and tense environment in Europe gave way to lively colored blocks under the influence of the energetic, pulsating life of new York city. 

Not many paintings exist in this new style, since he died due to pneumonia in 1944. His earlier works hence continue to be the more well-recognized part of his work.

Broadway Boogie Woogie, Mondrian, 1942-43

Mondrian continues to inspire and influence

A prominent architectural example of the influence of the de Stijl Movement outside Europe is the Eames House Los Angeles, USA designed by Charles and Rae Eames in 1949 . The steel structure for the house  was put up in a record 16 hours. The house has sliding walls and windows giving it the trademark versatility and openness of the de Stijl Movement.

The Eames House, Los Angeles, USA by Charles and Rae Eames
Source: http://www.tumblr.com

The side elevation of the house. Source: http://www.tumblr.com

Source: http://www.midcenturia.com

In 1965, Pierre Berge and Yves Saint Laurent made a cocktail dress as a tribute to Mondrian as part of their Fall Winter Collection. They went on to become famous and made enough money over the next ten years to acquire three original Mondrian paintings in 1975!

Cocktail Dress, Fall Winter, 1965 by Pierre  Berge - Yves Saint Laurent

Even in contemporary times, the de Stijl Movement continues to influence designers and Art lovers in every walk of life!

US: The origins of the porch

The ubiquitous American porch is a small, often enclosed area outside the building. For over a hundred years, it was as synonymous with American culture as apple pie. Traditionally, the origins of most elements used in American architecture can be traced back to Europe, especially the Greeks. In fact the porch is often mistakenly said to have originated from the verandas used as part of Greek Temple Architecture.  Though, the porch never featured as a part of local American Architecture well into the 18^th century.

It was first introduced as part of the “shotgun houses” built by the slaves from West Africa. These houses got the interesting name since they were designed in such a way that a shot fired through the entry, would pass right through all the passages and doors through the back door. (all aligned in a line to the main door). The houses were usually one room wide and many rooms deep.

Architectural Signifance

Back in Africa, known for its tropical, hot and humid climate, the porch was devised to provide relief from the heat and facilitate cross-ventilation. Community gathering space is very important to African, American and Afro-American Cultures. The porch served as a space for families and neighbours to gather.

Due to the association of porches to American cultural history, recent decades have seen a revival of porch building.