POST MODERNISM
Deconstructivism is the design style of the 1980's. Standard parts and pieces of a building were moved around to create a new whole. This also included taking apart and putting back together in a new form with the purpose of surprising people. Whether built, written or drawn, the work of renowned architect, theorist and educator, Peter Eisenman,  is characterized by Deconstructivism, with an interest in signs, symbols and the processes of making meaning always at the foreground. As such, Eisenman has been one of architecture's foremost theorists of recent decades; however he has also been a controversial figure in the architectural world, professing a disinterest in many of the more pragmatic concerns that other architects engage in. Eisenman has maintained his position at the fore of architectural theory thanks to what Stefano Corbo, in his book "From Formalism to Weak Form," calls "propagandistic activity": for example, from 1967 to 1982, Eisenman founded and directed the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies, which brought together many key figures, Kenneth Frampton, Rem Koolhaas and Anthony Vidler among them. Currently, Eisenman teaches at Yale and is professor emeritus at the Cooper Union school of architecture.

MODERN APPLICATIONS OF ARCHITECTURE 

PEER REVIEWS
Kate J: I like how you explained what postmodernism is and showed the photos of the 90's compared to current day architecture. It is interesting to see the differences.
Savannah: I like how you went through and discussed all of the important architects and designers from the postmodernism period. 
EXTRA CREDIT:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTOs5eWF0DE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJt0y9NwIyI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKomOqYU4Mw

Peer Review for Modernism Part 2
Kate J: I like how you showed the Mid-Century modern houses from back in the day compared to modern day. You can really see the similarities between the two periods even though they were built at much different times.
Megan: I like how you showed the furniture from Herman Miller and how it is applied in modern day interiors. When I went on the Herman Miller trip up to Michigan, all of the same furniture was incorporated into a modern design just like the photos you showed.

Modernism in America Part 2
Charles Eames was an architect and industrial designer. He studied architecture at Washington University and also taught at Cranbrook Academy. Ray Eames was an artist and film maker. She studied at the Bennett Women's College and Cranbrook Academy. They had great influence on the lifestyle of the average American family. Their furniture design included considerations of ergonomic factors. They designed furniture for Herman Miller. Some methods and materials included experimental development of the molded plywood chair, use of modern materials such as plywood and plastics, molded fiberglass, aluminum framed furniture. Charles and Ray married in 1941 and moved to California where they continued their furniture design work with molding plywood. During World War II they were commissioned by the United States Navy to produce molded plywood splints, stretchers, and experimental glider shells. In 1946, Evans Products began producing the Eameses’ molded plywood furniture. Their molded plywood chair was called “the chair of the century” by the influential architectural critic Esther McCoy. Soon production was taken over by Herman Miller who continues to produce the furniture in the United States today. In 1949, Charles and Ray designed and built their own home in Pacific Palisades, California, as part of the Case Study House Program. Their design and innovative use of materials made the House a mecca for architects and designers from both near and far.  Today, it is considered one of the most important post-war residences anywhere in the world.

CURRENT APPLICATIONS

EXTRA CREDIT 
http://www.eamesoffice.com/eames-office/charles-and-ray/

https://www.ted.com/talks/the_design_genius_of_charles_and_ray_eames

Modernism in America
Eero Saarinen was a Finnish Architect and Industrial designer. He went to the Yale School of Architecture. He joined a partnership with his father in Cranbrook, Michigan, and he helped establish the Cranbrook Academy in Michigan. His major works of art were several furniture pieces that were found throughout the Knoll Furniture company such as the Tulip Chair, Grasshopper Lounge Chair and the Womb Chair. According to the Knoll website,"Over the next 15 years Saarinen designed many of the most recognizable Knoll pieces, including the Tulip chairs and tables, the Womb chair, and the 70 series seating collection. Eero, who was known for being obsessed with revision, took a sculptural approach to furniture design, building hundreds of models and full scale mock-ups to achieve the perfect curve, find the right line, and derive the most pleasing proportions. His designs, which employed modern materials in graceful, organic shapes, helped establish the reputation and identity of Knoll during its formative years." 

He also was a part of the design of the Kleinhans Music Hall, which was the first 20th century American concert hall to achieve acoustic excellence. He designed the first Christian Church called Tabernacle Church located in Columbus, Indiana. Eero and Eliel partnered with Perkins and Will who were lead designers for the Crow Island School which was an American Public School. Here is a picture of the school compared to a modern day application of a school. 

 CURRENT APPLICATIONS                                    PEER REVIEWS  
 Erin Kelly: I like the image that you showed to demonstrate the modern application. You can see a lot of resemblance from the past to current. Also, there are differences though because the modern image mainly uses white in the design.

Kendra: I like how you discussed what modernism is in America and how it is seen today. I like the images that you showed because they are very different from the historical pictures.


EXTRA CREDIT
http://content.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,61064843001_1952762,00.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5d9Kk6pRC4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTpmel5io2Y    

Frances Elkins was one of the most influential female designers in the 20th century. She did not have any formal education. Her brother was David Alder who was an architect. She collaborated with her brother on 15 homes in California. She has often been called "the first greatest California decorator". She also created the famous loop chair.

Elkins (see Architectural Digest, January 2000) was born in Milwaukee, the younger sister of the renowned Chicago architect David Adler. When Adler studied architecture at the école des Beaux-Arts in Paris, from 1908 to 1911, Elkins joined him on forays throughout Europe, where they met several architects and designers who were inaugurating their own careers. She was drawn especially to the work of Jean-Michel Frank, the French interior and furniture designer, and Alberto Giacometti, the sculptor who designed fixtures for Frank. Eventually she would promote both of them through her California-based interior decorating business, which she established in 1918.
Elkins's career evolved shortly after she and her husband purchased Casa Amesti, a historic adobe in the seaside town of Monterey, California. Her friends were appalled when they saw the crumbling structure. Elkins, however, welcomed the challenge of restoring the 1830s building and assured her friends that once she and her brother applied their talents, the house would be transformed into the showplace of Northern California.
Adler and Elkins's unorthodox integration of diverse architectural styles and period pieces made Casa Amesti distinctive and original. For example, in the sala, on the second floor, the classical details that Adler added—a dentil cornice, fluted door casings and a pedimented overmantel purchased in England—were juxtaposed with the adobe's thick plastered walls and plank ceiling. The room's highly polished redwood floors served as a foundation for Elkins's harmonious mixture of English, French and Chinese furnishings, which she arranged symmetrically, in accordance with Adler's design principles. A strict palette of blue, yellow and white—her favorites—also unified the interior.

CURRENT APPLICATIONS

Notice how the modern day version has less to it meaning there are no cushions and there are more cut outs (holes on the seat). 
Also, below is a picture of a modern day interior with the application of the loop chair. This shows how the loop chair can be seen in a modern setting, contemporary setting or traditional setting especially because her interiors were more traditional based, so it is neat to see it in a modern day interior as well. 









EXTRA CREDIT VIDEOS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLL09zbxlG0

https://vimeo.com/188222297







PEER REVIEWS:

Courtney: I like how you talked about Dorothy because she is one designer that really interests me. The photo of your modern day application is interesting to see how it relates back to her designs from the 1900's. 


Megan: I really liked the photos that you used to show Clodagh's design. The designs are neat because I have never seen anything like it. My favorite photo you showed was the second one because the lights are very intriguing. 

The Art Deco period began because of tension between functionalists and decorators. Functionalists valued function, simplicity, mass production and designing for the common person and social good whereas decorators valued labor intensive craftsmanship, elite market and did not have a concern with social theory. France was the point of origin. Fashion oriented style, and everything was strongly decorative. This period was influenced by Art Nouveau. The public acceptance was often hesitant. The essance of Art Deco design was on chevron shapes, zig-zags, large mirrors, and folding screens. Also, lighting fixtures called the attention to modern materials. The stepped profile of furniture suggest the architecture of skyscrapers. Furniture design was made of rich materials such as ebony, tortoise-shell, leather, polished metals, mirrors and glass.

One architect of this period was Michel Roux-Spitz. He was a French architect and the chief architect of Civil Buildings. His style was highly decorative. He also had a fashion oriented style that was not concerned with functionalism. His design patterns were influenced by cubism and African tribal art. The furniture profiles were stair stepped showing the popularity of the skyscraper.

Another designer that stood out to me was Eileen Gray. She focused on luxury and geometric lines. She studied and applied lacquered technique to furniture, and her furniture was mass produced. Interiors featured furniture covered with simple materials, sparse with the focus on tribal artwork. Eileen was the designer of the Bibendum arm chair, transat chair, smoking table and Art Deco Screen To the right are pictures of her famous chair and table.

Paul Frankl was a designer in the United States. He was an Austrian immigrant that was an architect and furniture maker. He extensively used the skyscraper profile in his furniture. He introduced the use of plywood instead of solid wood. He also introduced the use of rattan and bamboo in furniture design.

Something interesting about this period was the invention of the Radio. It helped carry Art Deco into every American home. Cabinets and consoles model radio receivers. They were made out of wood, slick and curving forms and no longer historically based. Black and chrome hinted at new technology.

Here are pictures of the interior of an Art Deco style interior compared to recent applications of the Art Deco style in a residential setting.

CURRENT APPLICATIONS

EXTRA CREDIT:

http://videos.hgtv.com/video/art-deco-style-0156888

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amVvYPU4Gw8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4-0q3rgZVg

PEER REVIEW:

Kendra: I like the images that you selected to show the Art Deco style from the 1900's compared to the Art Deco style today. My favorite picture is the one of the bathroom. You can really see the elements that bring out the Art Deco style such as the patterns and design on the floor.

Alexandra: I really enjoyed reading your blog because you looked at Art Deco and how it is seen throughout Chicago. It was interesting to read because the Merchandise Mart is one example of the Art Deco style in Chicago and we have been there. I never would have known until studying this design period. It is interesting to see the buildings and interiors that are incorporated with this style.

Mies van der Rohe was a German-American architect during the Modernism period. He was a son of a tradesman and an apprentice to Peter Behrens. He wanted to establish a unique design style for the modern era. Mies van der Rohe valued the concepts of simplicity and clarity with a desire for each structure to appear frameless. He referred to his structures as skin and bones architecture. His concept was "Less is more".

Some methods and materials included interiors that were created using industrial steel and plate glass. He created overlap between the outside and the inside to blend them together. He valued luxurious materials such as wood and marble. He also utilized tubular metal to create chairs. Mies van der Rohe really focused on the details of the design. Interiors were open and each space flowed into the next space. The rich materials were the decoration. For example, the rich material of the wall really pops out and creates the decoration in this space.

Mies van der Rohe designed the Barcelona Pavillion in 1928. The Barcelona Exhibition introduced Mies to the world. This was the first building to fully exploit modern structural technology of steel and concrete. Along with the structure came the Barcelona chair. There were colors and textures of rich materials which provided ornamentation. This was an abstract work of art which gained an international reputation. Mies van der Rohe also designed the Farnsworth House located in Plano, Illinois. It is an all glass house that is held up only by eight structural supports. It sits in the middle of a forest and gives you a feel that you are outside even when you are inside. It is truly a beautiful piece of work, and I have never seen anything like it.  

CURRENT APPLICATIONS:

Here is a modern day application of the Barcelona Chair. You can see that the shape is still the same but there is a more modern feel to it with the negative space due to the straps instead of the cushion.
This is also a picture of a modern glass house which reminds me of the glass houses designed by Mies van der Rohe.













VIDEOS:

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/later-europe-and-americas/modernity-ap/v/mies-van-der-rohe-seagram-building-new-york-city-1958

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M3p9iKITaA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sD-0kEWHqA

PEER REVIEW:

Kate I: I really like how you showed Frank Lloyd Wright's version of an open office plan compared to a modern day one. It is really interesting how the idea emerged from him and it has continued to expand. You can see a difference between the two yet they are similar in the way they are set up in groups. Overall, great job showing current examples because it is really neat to see how things progress over time.

Haley B: I like how you talked about many different designers from the same period. You can see how they were similar in some ways such as incorporating glass into their designs. This was especially shown in your images that you provided. I love your examples of the modern day application because you can really tell how things have changed but it all has stemmed from their original ideas.