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Le Cylindre Sonore / Bernhard Leitner. Architecture and Sound create spaces with changing flexible contours. They create invisible territories which by not being limited by physical boundaries increase their impact. Of course, one argues that architecture is visual and expresses the will to establish limits and boundaries. While these boundaries are elementary, they cannot convey the complete adventure of architecture. Through its very essence the inside formulates an outside. And the exterior of a building creates further spaces, it gives rise to the city and all the subtle interconnections which make for the richness of the city. Bernhard Leitner is one of the few, and in this assumes an important role, who pursue connections which constantly interact and combine, in order to fill our spaces with simultaneous attraction of the architectural and sonorous.

Sound is not this undefined, unfocused envelope which subordinated us to the mastery of nature and from which there is no escape. Chilehaus / Fritz Höger. The idea for the Chilehaus came when Henry B. Sloman left Hamburg for Chile a poor man and returned to the city decades later with his newfound fortune. Upon his return, he decided that he wanted to give something back to his hometown, and so he commissioned architect Fritz Höger to design the Chilehaus, named for Sloman’s success in Chile. Completed in 1924, the Chilehaus quickly became a symbol of both Brick Expressionism architecture and Hamburg’s economic revival post World War I. More on the design of the Chilehaus after the break.

In an attempt to completely fill Sloman’s irregularly-shaped plots of land located in the center of Hamburg’s business district, Höger designed the Chilehaus to mimic the shape of a passenger ship. The building has three tiered balconies on the upper floors meant to look like ship decks, and the eastern edge of the building is famous for its unique, pointed tip that resembles a ship’s prow. All of Höger’s efforts, however, were not in vain. AD Classics: The Crystal Palace / Joseph Paxton. The Crystal Palace was a glass and cast iron structure built in London, England, for the Great Exhibition of 1851. The building was designed by Sir Joseph Paxton, an architect and gardener, and revealed breakthroughs in architecture, construction and design.

More on the Crystal Palace after the break… In January 1850 a committee was formed to choose the design for a temporary exhibition building that would showcase the latest technologies and innovations from around the world: The “Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations.” The structure had to be as economical as possible, and be built before the exhibition was scheduled to open on May 1st, 1851. Within 3 weeks the committee received 245 entires, all of which were rejected.

Already a famous gardener at the time, Paxton experimented extensively with glasshouse construction. Paxton’s design was based on a 10in x 49in module, the size of the largest glass sheet available at the time. Detail © greatbuildings.com. AD Classics: The Einstein Tower / Erich Mendelsohn. The Einstein Tower, designed by the German architect Erich Mendelsohn, is one of the best-known examples of German expressionist architecture. Designed as an amorphic structure of reinforced concrete, Mendelsohn wanted the tower to represent as well as facilitate the study of Einstein’s radical theory of relativity – a groundbreaking theorem of motion, light and space.

More on this expressionist monument after the break… Astrophysicist Erin Finlay Freundlich commissioned Mendelsohn (along with a young Richard Neutra on his team) to design the Einstein Tower as a research facility for the theory of relativity. Between 1917-1920 Mendelsohn made numerous sketches of the facility, attempting to create a dynamic structure which would give form to Einstein’s groundbreaking theories. Building commenced in Potsdam, Germany in 1921. The research center opened in 1924 and held the most important solar observatory facilities until World War II, when it was severely damaged. The Kreuzberg Tower / John Hejduk. In April of 2010 the architecture community gathered to protect one of the many at risk postmodern buildings of the 1980s. The new owners of the Kreuzberg Tower by John Hejduk drew negative attention from notable architects when they began altering the building’s façade. The Kreuzberg Tower’s façade has now been restored, and the attention it received reflects on its postmodern history, and the prominence of its important designer.

Hejduk began his career at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art where he later served as dean from 1972 to 2000. The revered architect and artist built very few buildings, and is most recognized for his written, academic, and theoretical contributions to architecture. He was a member of both the New York Five and The Texas Rangers, and wrote poetry as well as theory. The Kreuzberg Tower is a rare example of his built work. The Kreuzberg Tower was part of the 1987 International BauAufstellung (IBA) Program. St. Mark’s Church in Bjorkhagen / Sigurd Lewerentz. After over a decade of absence from architecture, Sigurd Lewerentz reappeared with the creation of St. Mark’s Church in Björkhagen, Stockholm. His winning design for the church brought him back to the art of building, and his apt control of materiality brought the St. Mark’s Church international attention.

Lewerentz received the commission for St. Mark’s Church through a competition. He was invited, along with four other architects, to propose ideas for the new church. Lewerentz submitted multiple ideas and was ultimately chosen as the designer for the new church in 1956. St. The church is entered through the wooden portico to where one is deposited into a dimly lit foyer. Both buildings on site are made with the same color of brick with a lighter mortar. St. Architect: Sigurd Lewerentz Location: Stockholm, Sweden Project Year: 1956-60 References: Continuity in Architecture, Sigurd Lewerentz and a Material Basis for Form Photographs: Flickr: jmpt, Wikimedia Commons: Holger.Ellgaard. Florey Building / James Stirling. The Queen’s College Florey building is the third and last building of “The Red Trilogy” (the Leicester Engineering Faculty building and the Cambridge History Faculty building being the first two) designed by James Stirling, solidifying him as an irreplaceable facet in modern Architecture.

The Florey building was named after provost and 1945 Nobel Laureate Lord Howard Florey, who sat on the committee in charge of choosing an architect for the project. Although Stirling was not the most popular choice for lead architect on the project, Florey was an advocate of his, and Stirling was ultimately agreed upon because of the promise and potential held in his reputation at that time to deliver an iconic, modern building to boost the college’s reputation and enrollment.

All three of Stirling’s university buildings were designed in the decade between 1958 and 1968, but the Florey building did not begin construction until after the end of this time period and was not completed until 1971. Trellick Tower / Erno Goldfinger. The Trellick Tower is an iconic structure located in west London, England. It has gone through numerous phases of public perception, most notably its notorious nickname as the “Tower of Terror.” Designed as social housing for the local council, it features numerous unconventional design elements. Architect Erno Goldfinger, drew inspiration from the modernist principles of Le Corbusier’s Unite d’Habitation for the tower’s dwelling units. More details after the break. Standing at 31 stories and 322 feet tall, the Trellick Tower’s Brutalist architectural style dominates the immediate skyline. One of the most unique features besides the distinct separation of service from dwelling is the method for which the flats are accessed. The service tower component contains the majority of the mechanical equipment in the uppermost regions.

Although, the Trellick Tower suffered from years of neglect and a crime ridden atmosphere, it has since redeemed itself. AD Classics: Amsterdam Orphanage / Aldo van Eyck. Dutch Architect Aldo van Eyck built the Amsterdam Orphanage in 1960. His design focused on a balance of forces to create both a home and small city on the outskirts of Amsterdam.

As a member of CIAM and then a founding member of Team 10, van Eyck held strong opinions on post-war architecture. The Amsterdam Orphanage was van Eyck’s opportunity to put his opinions in practice through his first large scale built project. Van Eyck criticized early post-war architecture as lacking a human element. CIAM, Congrès internationaux d’architecture moderne, was an organization of architects founded between 1928 and 1959 to promote and discuss the principles of modern architecture. At the time of its completion, the Amsterdam Orphanage was located on the outskirts of the city. Therefore van Eyck’s designs for the Orphanage were those of both a home for the children, as well as the plan of a small city.

Within the Orphanage, units of program are laid out on an orthogonal grid. Bank of China Tower / I.M. Pei. When commissioned to design the Bank of China Tower on an intricate inland site, I.M. Pei was requested to create an unavoidably tall unique headquarters in a typhoon-prone region that would represent the aspirations of the Chinese people yet also symbolize good will toward the British Colony. The solution assimilates architecture and engineering simultaneously, involving an asymmetrical tower that informs both skyline and street. The Bank of China Tower stands 70 stories tall, reaching a height of 1,209 feet. At the time of its opening in May 1990, it was the tallest building in Asia and still remains one of the tallest in Hong Kong. Comprised of four vertical shafts, the tower emerges from a 52-meter cube and reduces its mass, quadrant by quadrant, until a single triangular prism resides. The faceted prism is clad in reflective glass that mirrors the changing sky, anchoring the expansive business district and providing a characteristic vertical axis to Hong Kong’s towering skyline.

AD Classics: Steel Pre-Fab Houses / Donald Wexler. For Donald Wexler modern architecture is simply the right way to design. One of the true fundamental Modernist, Donald Wexler began his career working in the office of Richard Neutra. It was here that he became a true pragmatist, balking at any ideological rational for modernism and instead argue that his pursuit of modern design derives from its responsiveness to dynamic environmental, technological, and material conditions.

Adaptability and flexibility, prominent aspects of Wexler’s personality, are values inherent in his conception of architectural space, systems, and materials. It was this approach to modern design that led Donald Wexler to be one of the pioneers in the exploration of pre-fabrication and the use of light steel framing for both commercial and residential. It was in the offices of Neutra that Wexler first gained interest in working with steel framing, having Neutra’s Lovell Health House considered to be the first steel-frame residence in America. Flatiron Building / Daniel Burnham. As one of the most widely recognized buildings in New York City, as well as the world, the Flatiron Building was/is an innovative architectural statement at the turn of the 20th Century. Completed in 1902 by Daniel Burnham, the Flatiron Building was a prime architectural design at the advent of steel skyscraper construction in the United States. Known for its triangular design at the intersection of 5th Ave. and Broadway, the Flatiron Buildings iconic presence has transformed an entire area of Manhattan into the Flatiron District.

More on the Flatiron Building after the break. Manhattan has been and always will be synonymous with the overarching imposition of the grid system that defines the entire city, but each block as part of a larger collective system. However, the triangular residual space created by the intersections of 5th Ave., Broadway, and 23rd street have created one of the most recognized and famous buildings in the discipline of architecture. JFK Presidential Library / I.M. Pei. After a nine year process and fourteen possible architects the John F.

Kennedy Presidential Library was finally finished and dedicated on October 20, 1979. Architect I.M. Pei’s signature geometric shapes of concrete steel and glass created an appropriate stately monumentality. A juxtaposition of spaces and light quality along with a defined and lucid circulation creates a logical story line of its namesake. In 1963, then President John F. Kennedy viewed possible sites for a presidential library and museum to be built in his name. At the time there were only four other presidential libraries and yet Kennedy sought a stronger and more accessible system. A month after the visit President Kennedy was assassinated. The original site that President Kennedy had selected quickly became unrealistic after it had been repeatedly bogged down with processes and delays. Architect: I.M. Maison de Verre / Pierre Chareau + Bernard Bijvoet.

Designed by Pierre Chareau and Bernard Bijvoet, the Maison de Verre translated as “House of Glass,” is a milestone in early modern architectural design. Built in 1932, the house uses various industrial and mechanical fixtures juxtaposed with a traditional style of home furnishings all under the transparency and lightness of the façade. More after the break. Unable to expel an elderly woman on the top floor, the house was engraved underneath an existing apartment. As such, the house uses skeleton frame steel construction allowing a free plan and the use of omnipresent lightweight materials, such as glass and glass block. An interesting aspect of this house is the ubiquitous mechanical fixtures. Spatial division inside is customizable by the use of sliding, folding, and rotating screens in glass, sheet or perforated metal.

Architecture Classics: Torre SRE Tlatelolco / Pedro Ramírez Vázquez. The design of this work was a challenge for the zone in which it is located, which is predominantly residential, situated far from offices and embassies and adjacent to a newly restored archaeological site. With a metallic structure covered in white marble, today it is the seat of the University Cultural Center Tlatelolco of UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico) and houses the Blaisten Collection – the most important collection of Mexican art in the world. This 27-story tower that stands at 335 feet is found in a rectangle bounded in the north by the Tlatelolco Archaeological Zone and the Plaza de las Tres Culturas; to the south, by the Avenida Ricardo Flores Magón; to the west, by the Central Axis Lázaro Cárdenas and to the east, by the service areas of the Parish of Santiago and the housing unit itself. AD Classics: Igualada Cemetery / Enric Miralles + Carme Pinos, photos by David Cabrera. Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank / Foster + Partners.

Boston City Hall / Kallmann, McKinnell, & Knowles. AD Classics: Berlin Philharmonic / Hans Scharoun. AD Classics: Chrysler Building / William Van Alen. AD Classics: Neviges Mariendom / Gottfried Böhm. AD Classics: Paris Opera / Charles Garnier. AD Classics: Woolworth Building / Cass Gilbert. AD Classics: The National Art Schools of Cuba / Ricardo Porro, Vittorio Garatti, Roberto Gottardi. AD Classics: Marina City / Bertrand Goldberg. AD Classics: Museum of Modern Art, Gunma / Arata Isozaki. AD Classics: Orange County Government Center / Paul Rudolph. AD Classics: Torre Blancas / Francisco Javier Sáenz de Oiza.

AD Classics: Milam Residence / Paul Rudolph. AD Classics: Bass Residence / Paul Rudolph.