Lecture 7 - Mies van der Rohe

Some architect’s works with plan, some works with section drawing, these are the two groups that can divide designer work into. Mies van der Rohe works with the plan. The famous Barcelona Pavilion built in 1929 got famous due to the reason Mies had to design the Pavilion in less than a year, and it was took down afterwards, only the photographs was left. However, the concept and the design of the building interested the world of architecture, where a rebuild was decided, rebuilding the whole building in Barcelona where the present one is actually a copy of the original.

Mies adjusted the classical vertical central line design, where there is always one central vertical straight line and all other elements of the building follows it. In the Barcelona Pavilion, Mies have turned the vertical line 90 degree, much more emphasised the horizontal lines instead. In his drawing of the interior, the line in the middle showing the column but in a really pale colour and line, suggested the idea of thin column support the whole structure, not reality to the construction. The almost disappear wall at the back suggested the idea of a total open space. The two side of the drawing also showed the very careful and delicate marble and glass, giving the texture of the interior where the whole building is carefully chosen and filled with different delicate material, each part of the building used different material for the result, even there are 4 or more different glass used in the building. The long extending wall act like a magic piece in the building, it look as it is a freestanding wall by itself and definitely not for supporting the roof structure at the top. But this is where Mies played with his design, he emphasised the visual angle of the space, giving the maximum open view.

Lecture 6 - Modernist Theories and Dogma - The rise of Le Corbusier

Le Corbusier born in 1887 was a Swiss-French architect, designe domino systemr, urbanist, writer and also a painter. He studies the modern high design and was specific in designing better living for residents of crowed cities. He was interested in new technical inventions and construction material. He invented the domino system, where stand for ‘domestic’ ‘innovation’, the principle combined the meaning of the two words and together with the domino game. He created the ‘Dom-ino’ House in 1914-1915 where he examined the new structural and material possibilities in architecture The house proposed with an open floor plan consisting of concrete slabs and supported by a minimal number of thin, reinforced concrete columns around the edges, with a stairway providing access to each level on one side of the floor plan. This design became the foundation for most of his architecture for the next ten-year.

Le Corbusier suggested the basis modern living in his Pavillon de l’Esprit Nouveau, it was described as a ‘machine for living in’ and compared to a similar description of automobiles as ‘machines for transportation’. He suggested the basis for a design for modern living as to be found in the efficiency and economy of the office rather than in the luxury and individuality of the traditional home or apartment, and relied more upon the skills of the engineer than those of the artist.