ARCH 2112 Final Review Session Notes

Eames House
tenants
California
study house for magazine - thinking about restructuring architecture after WWII
  to model the modern man's life

Gropius' House
Massachussets
Much older than Eames house
Apple orchard surrounds it
Very different landscape than the Eames house (southwest CA vs foresty MA)

COMPARISON
Eames is steel, Gropius house is more focused on glass.
Eames house has two double-high spaces, while Gropius house is more functional -
  rooms placed according to sunlight coming it, etc - like Bauhaus.
Both are modernist - simple planes and box structure
Use of color is a huge difference - Eames house is more playful, while again
  is Gropius more functional.
Gropius house is more estranged - bold, steel, and white, while Eames is more
  artistic.

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Hancock Center
1970

Seagram
1958

COMPARISON
Hancock set back on a big plaza far from anything else - which was revolutionary
  at the time.
Seagram has no loadbearing walls on the outside - which was unusual at the time,
  and still is.
The I-beams on the Seagram are not actually structural - they're just there to
  show order, and for decoration - just there to show off structure.
Hancock shows off the structural model just as the Seagram's - again the use of
  structural features intentionally to show off the model it's going for.
Seagram - Mies controlled the entire floorplan; Hancock - much more programmed
  and less control of the architect of the purpose - and much more varied.
Corporate identity was key here - each was a model for the identity of
  corporations at the time.

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EXAM -
  Start with bullet points of main areas of interest: client, site, material,
    structure, corporate branding, architect

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Farnsworth House - Mies
Glass House - Johnson

CLIENT
  Johnson was derivative of Mies's original piece.
  Johnson was built for himself, Mies for Farnsworth
  Farnsworth and Mies were in a relationship
  Mies kept wanting to add things to it
  Mies sued her for expenses because Farnsworth didn't pay for the house - Mies
    ended up winning even though Farnsworth countersued for malpractice
  Roof leaked
  Building flooded, very bad structure
STRUCTURE
  Mies uses the floating plains concept, while Johnson's house is embedded in
    the ground.
  Johnson is more massive - emphasizes corners, while Mies' is supposed to
    expand the boundaries that it makes.

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Lake Shore Drive - van der Rohe

World Trade Center - Yamasaki

STRUCTURE
  Both steel and glass.
  Lake Shore Drive - decorative bulleons - criticized for being non-functional.
  Yamasaki was afraid of heights, so he wanted to have a design that made the
    people inside feel safe - ratio of structure to glass is much lower -
    slimmer windows - than Lake Shore Drive.

CLIENT
  World Trade Center = NY NJ Port Authority
    Height originally proposed to be 80 floors, but Port Authority wanted it
    taller.

ARCHITECT
  Yamasaki had no prior experience with tall buildings - more interest in
    structural realization than strucutral reality.

SITE
  Lake Shore is more open, more welcoming than World Trade Center


WTC is a somber memorial, but is now becoming more of an office space again.

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Bauhaus
  Architect = Gropius
  Location = Germany
  1925-1926

Crown Hall
  1950-1956

STRUCTURE
  Concrete and glass - very industrial materials
  Bauhaus is very flat, simple, orthogonal geometry
  Bauhaus is comprised of four different sections, each of a different program
  The conventional educational building is very symmetrical, while Bauhaus is
    not.
  Crown Hall is steel and glass
  Crown Hall is very flat and consistent shape, less jagged than Bauhaus
  Crown Hall has NO columns in its open space - does this via suspended roof.

DETAILS
  Crown Hall is very low

COMPARISON
  Similarities
    Both are schools - architecture, art
    Context of the building is the same
    Very large influence on architecture at the time

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St John's Abbbey Church = Breur
  1963-1961

OTHER
  1950-54

STRUCTURE
  OTHER is much more rounded, also very transitional
  St Johns is of a massive scale
    Delta stands in front of the building entrance
  Church front
  Roof of OTHER is much more rounded roof

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One World Trade Center

Burj Khalifa

COMPARISON
  Mies' work was copied very frequently after his rise - however, there came a
    rise in practicality and concern for materials cost, at the expense of
    quality
  WTC is typical glass structure, concrete wall - triangular sides
  Burj Khalifa is much taller, still triangular, but going more for height
  Burj has nothing to compete with - look at the context
    Burj is competing on a global scale, whereas One WTC is competing on a local
      scale
  Think about context!!!
  Approach, who they are for, who they are used for
    Burj is for the extremely wealthy, not for the architect
    One WTC is in a weird postion - it's supposed to be somber, but at the same
      time it's supposed to fit back in with the area - HOWEVER it's not very
      approachable because of this! - it's got a bunker in the basement, set up
      high off the ground for security reasons

STUDY DATES, NAME, LOCATION,