Postmodernism & Architecture Postmodernism is the reaction to or rejection of the dogma, principles, or practices of established modernism.

Postmodernism is especially a movement in architecture and the decorative arts running counter to the practice and influence of the International Style and encouraging the use of elements from historical vernacular styles and often playful illusion, decoration, and complexity. Postmodern architecture has opened up a whole new venue for contemporary architects. It has utilized previous principles of Modern architecture but with the intention of creating something unique in a world filled with simulacra. Architecture is a structural representation of an artistic statement about our society, about how man interacts within spaces. Postmodern architecture has completely reinterpreted the ideas of form and function from previous conventions of Modern architecture. Modern architecture placed function before form. It was minimalist, and based upon five basic principles coined by French architect, Le Corbusier. His first principle was to elevate the first floor using pilotis, or columns. The second principle was then developed: to push the structure to the exterior. This translated into the third principle which was to have an open floor plan, in other words, to have large open spaces rather than many small enclosed spaces. The fourth principle was to use modern materials, rather than using traditional materials like wood and brick; iron, steel, and glass were primarily used. The fifth principle is a continuation of the fourth: utilizing numerous window systems, specifically designing the openings to be horizontal ribbon windowsrather than common place vertical rectangles punched out of a solid wall. His five principles were widely accepted and utilized by many notable architects. These principles became the basis of Modern architecture and became known as the International Style since it was used around the world. The direction of architectural growth was translated and re-envisioned by Le Corbusier. His principles developed the characteristics of architecture that reflected an interpretation of society. Modern architecture is minimalist, placing function over form. Modern architecture is very plain compared to contemporary standards; it is slender and stagnant. Perfect examples ofthe embodiment of the International Style are Le Corbusiers Villa Savoye, Mies van der Rohes Seagram Building and Farnsworth House. Each is minimal, utilizing only glass, iron or steel, and concrete. They are rectilinear, comprised of only vertical and horizontalplanes, and vertical linear elements (columns). The boxy, prefabricated form of Modern architecture was disregarded as the International Style became outdated and the growth of Postmodern architecture rose. Influential early large-scale examples of postmodern architecture are Michael Graves Portland Building in Portland, Oregon and Philip Johnson's Sony Building (originally AT&T Building) in New York City, which borrows elements and references from the past and reintroduces color and symbolism to architecture. Postmodern architecture has also been described as neo-eclectic, where reference and ornament have returned to the facade, replacing the aggressively unornamented modern styles. This eclecticism is often combined with the use of non-orthogonal angles and unusual surfaces, most famously in the State Gallery of Stuttgart by James Stirling and the Piazza d'Italia by Charles Moore. The Scottish Parliament Building in Edinburgh has also been cited as being of postmodern vogue.

Postmodern architecture places form over function. Postmodern architecturere interprets the International Style with the intention of developing a building that is completely unique. It is a reinterpretation of traditional values, developing a new individualistic style that says that form can dictate function rather than having functiondictate form. Postmodern and contemporary architects alike view architecture as its own form of art; physical, experiential art. Although Postmodern architecture believes in theuse of modern materials, the application of those materials to create form is far more dynamic and full of life. Architecture can be representational and has been in many instances, but Postmodern architecture takes it to a whole new level. Much of design is simply pushing the boundaries of the materials themselves and the forms they can create. A sub-style that has been defined within the realm of Postmodern architecture is called Deconstructionism. It is essentially the fragmentation of form to respond to both positive and negative space to establish a form that is then almost organic or fluid-like. Frank Gehry, a highly regarded postmodern architect, is noted for his style of Deconstructionism. We see the flowing nature of the multifaceted facade in GehrysWalt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and The Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain. There is a real dynamism to Postmodern architecture and in this case it seems asthough it is actually the form that determines the function: the sails rise and part to draw you toward the entrance. Gehrys style does not cease at one sub-style of postmodernism; his dynamic, energetic interpretation of architecture has allowed him tocreate such unique buildings like The Dancing House in Prague. This NationaleNederlanden Insurance building is also nicknamed Fred and Ginger because of the way the two vertical masses seem to interact and dance with each other. Part of Postmodern architecture is making a statement through form. Another notable postmodern architect is a Dutchman, Rem Koolhaas. His design of the Chinese Central Television (CCTV) Headquarters in Beijing, has an extremely unique form that pushes the boundaries of structure. The form of the building can be interpreted as the concept of bridging the gap; cooperation. The form not only makes a social statement but an artistic statement as well. The bent, jointed form of the building plays with the concept of the facade being continuous yet distorted or contorted. The function of this building falls secondary to its form. There are numerous other successful postmodern architects that embody the reinterpretation of traditional values that is Postmodern architecture. Postmodernism is an expressive medium, art at its roots. Architecture can be viewed as a type of art, it includes elements like intertextuality and pastiche, and more specifically with Postmodern architecture: metanarrative. Postmodern buildings are almost aware of the fact that they are a building and seem to use that as a method ofthinking outside the box. A contemporary architect knowing he is designing a building puts him in a position to let his creativity run wild; he can use any materials at his disposal to create any form he can imagine. Today, Postmodern architecture has become so advanced and so unique that the realm of architecture has become limitless. Examples of Postmodern architecture The Harold Washington Library Center is the central library for the Chicago Public Library System. It is named for former Mayor Harold Washington. It is located just south of the Loop 'L', at 400 S. State Street in Chicago, in the U.S. state of Illinois. At approximately 756,640 square feet (70,294 m2), it the

largest public library building in the world. The building was designed by the architectural firm of Hammond, Beeby and Babka, now known as Hammond Beeby Rupert Ainge, Inc., winners of a design competition held in 1987 to replace the old central library, which had been housed in the present Chicago Cultural Center. The exterior evokes the design of the Rookery, Auditorium and the Monadnock buildings. The bottom portion is made of large granite blocks. Red brick makes up the majority of the exterior. These two portions draw on the Beaux-Art style. The pediments and most of the west side facing Plymouth Court are glass, steel and aluminum with ornamentation hearkening to the Mannerist style. On the divide between the granite blocks and the brick portions are wall medallions that have the face of Ceres and ears of corn.On the north, east and south sides of the build are five story tall arched windows. Between the windows are rope friezes. The Neue Staatsgalerie in Stuttgart, Germany, was designed by the British firm James Stirling, Michael Wilford and Associates, although largely accredited solely to partner James Stirling. It was constructed in the 1970s and opened to the public in 1984. The building has been claimed as the epitome of Post-modernism. Located next-door to Stuttgart's Alte Staatsgalerie, the design echoed the neoclassical design of the older building. Elements also alluded to Stirling's earlier, unbuilt designs, as well as making reference to the Altes Museum in Berlin, the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Pantheon in Rome. [1] The building incorporates warm, natural elements of travertine and sandstone in classical forms, to contrast with the industrial pieces of green steel framing system and the bright pink and blue steel handrails. The architect intended to unite the monumental with the informal. The building's most prominent feature is a central open-top rotunda. This outdoor, enclosed space houses the sculpture garden. It is circumvented by a public footpath and ramp that leads pedestrians through the site. This feature allows the public to reach the higher elevation behind the museum from the lower front of the building's main face.By uniting Modernist elements with overt Classicism, architectural critic Charles Jencks claims the gallery "epitomized the first stage of Post-Modernism in much the way the Villa Savoye and Barcelona Pavilion summarized early Modernism". The Wells Fargo Center (90 South 7th St), formerly known as Norwest Center, is the third-tallest building in Minneapolis, Minnesota, after the IDS Center and the Capella Tower. Completed in 1988, it is 235.6 m tall. Norwest Center was designed with a modernized art deco style by Csar Pelli. Wells Fargo Center sits on the site of the old Northwestern National Bank Building, which was destroyed in a fire in 1982. Northwestern National, renamed Norwest, maintained its headquarters here. Despite Norwest's adoption of the Wells Fargo identity after acquiring the latter and moving to San Francisco in 1998, significant regional operations are still maintained in this building. It is brilliantly lit at night from sunset through midnight, with floodlamps pointing up from the setback rooftops to illuminate the sides of the building. Despite

this, it is still much more energy efficient than the previous building and in 2000, it was recognized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as one of the 100 most energy efficient buildings in the USA. The Vanna Venturi House, one of the first prominent works of the postmodern architecture movement, is located in the neighborhood of Chestnut Hill in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was designed by architect Robert Venturi for his mother Vanna Venturi, and constructed between 1962 -1964. The house was sold in 1973 and remains a private residence. The five room house stands only about 30 feet (9 m) tall at the top of the chimney, but has a monumental front facade, an effect achieved by intentionally manipulating the architectural elements that indicate a building's scale. A non-structural applique arch and "hole in the wall" windows, among other elements, together with Venturi's book Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture were an open challenge to Modernist orthodoxy. Architectural historian Vincent Scully called it "the biggest small building of the second half of the twentieth century. Venturi designed the Vanna Venturi House at the same time that he wrote his anti-Modernist polemic Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture in which he outlined his own architectural ideas. During the writing he redesigned the house at least five times in fully workedout versions. A description of the house is included in the bookand the house is viewed as an embodiment of the ideas in the book. He states: Architects can no longer afford to be intimidated by the puritanically moral language of orthodox Modern architecture. I like elements which are hybrid rather than "pure," compromising rather than "clear," distorted rather than "straightforward." ... I am for messy vitality over obvious unity. I include the non sequitur and proclaim duality. The Sony Tower, formerly the AT&T Building, is a 647 feet (197 m) tall, 37story highrise skyscraper located at 550 Madison Avenue between 55th Street and 56th Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The building was designed by architect Philip Johnson and partner John Burgee, completed in 1984, and close - in concept - to the 1982 Humana Building by Michael Graves. The effect the building had on the public at large has been described as legitimizing the postmodern architecture movement on the world stage. Naredi-Rainer, Paul; Hilger, Oliver-Museum Buildings: A design Manual, Basel 2004, pp 70-72
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Literature: -Walker, John A. "Post-Modern Architecture."

- Naredi-Rainer,Paul; Hilger,Oliver-Museum Buildings: A design Manual -Christopher Butler Postmodernizam - Mordaunt Crook, Joseph- The dilemma of style : architectural ideas from the picturesque to the post-modern