Neo Expressionism

JOHN UTZON EERO SAARINEN PIER LUIGI NERVI KANZO TANGI

EXPRESSIONISM
Expressionism was a cultural movement in germany at the start of the 20th century.
Its typical trait is to present the world under an utterly subjective perspective, With emotional effect And transmit personal Moods and ideas. Expressionist artists Sought to express the Meaning of emotional Experience rather than The Einstein Tower in Potsdam is an Physical reality. Expressionist work by architect
Erich

 Interest in expressing EMOTIONAL & PSYCHOLOGICAL states e.g. loneliness in the modern society through:
- Vibrant, often non-naturalistic colour - Gestural, free brushwork - Distorted forms

"The Potato Eaters Painted in 1885

"The Red Vineyard" Painted in 1888

NEO- EXPRESSIONISM
Neo-Expressionist architecture has its roots in the first wave of Expressionist architecture that emerged in Germany in 1910, and continued until after World War II. Few examples of early Expressionist architecture are found in America. it is not simply a continuation or adoption of earlier forms. Neo-Expressionist architecture, another rejection of miesian modernism, is based upon a new breed of artistarchitects expressing their own interpretation of form, design, and meaning.

Neo-Expressionist architecture is most common in religious and public buildings.

Architecture is not based upon symbolism or gained knowledge; instead, meaning is conveyed on a nonintellectual or emotional level and directly through the form.

Neo-Expressionist structures are based on the continuity of form and a tendency to avoid the rectangle and right angle. Curved and angled concrete or brick faced walls are common. Dramatic, irregular shapes dominate and arches are common. Sculpted forms rather than geometric shapes dominate.
Building materials take advantage of modern

IDENTIFYING FEATURES:
Curved/Angled Concrete and/or brick walls Dramatic, Irregular shapes, Tendency to avoid the rectangle and right angle Massive sculpted forms; Concept of architecture as a piece of sculpture Emphasis on structural engineering Distortion of form for an emotional effect Relinquishment of functional qualities for stylistic expression Cantilevered Roofs Laminated Woods Organic Design Fragmented lines Lack of symmetry is common

GENERAL PRINCIPLES:
Link architecture with the community and surrounding environment Neglect the classical architecture Designs that represent the goals inherent in the mind of architect Inspiration from nature

CHAPEL OF NOTRE DAME DU HAUT RONCHAMP Location Building Type Construction System Climate Context Style Notes Ronchamp, France Church Reinforced concrete Temperate Rural, Mountains Expressionist Modern Soft-form composition, deep windows with colored glass (wall thickness 4' to 12')

Progamatically,...the church is simplean oblong nave, two side entrances, an axial main altar, and three chapels beneath towersas is its structure, with rough masonry walls faced with whitewashed Gunite (sprayed concrete) and a roof of contrasting beton brut.

Site Plan Sectional View

Plan

North Elevation

Section

Main features:
The thick, curved walls - especially the buttress-shaped south wall - and the vast shell of the concrete roof give the building a massive, sculptural form. Small, brightly painted and apparently irregular windows punched in these thick walls give a dim but exciting light within the cool building, enhanced by further indirect light coming down the three light towers.

Interior planning:
The interior of the chapel is modest, with plain pews down the south side only. The walls curve, the roof curves, and even the floor curves down towards the altar, following the shape of the hill. Above the plain altar, the east wall is punctuated by several pinhole-windows and by a single substantial window with the Madonna and Child in silhouette; through the window this image also serves the outside altar used during pilgrimages.

Key features:
Acoustic parabolas:
The complex shapes at Ron champ start from a theme of acoustic parabolas, playing a practical role on the east wall to reflect the sound from the outside altar for the pilgrims gathered on the hill. Simple, geometric shapes from Le Corbusier earlier buildings have given way to more subtle, fractal, "natural" shapes here, leading to the description of Ron champ as the first Post-Modern building.

Vertical triangular frames:

"[The] south wall provokes astonishment. Vertical triangular frames of reinforced concrete 16cm thick varying, at the base, from a width of 3m70 to 1m40 to 50cm at the top, carrying the immense, spreading shell of the roof; the rest, the bays, embrasures and splays which break up the interior wall (and scarcely puncture the facade) is a membrane of concrete 4cm thick sprayed on to expanded metal by cement gun."

ArchitectEero Saarinen Location :- Chantilly, Virginia Date :- 1958 to 1962 Building Type :- airline terminal Construction System :- concrete Climate :-temperate Style :- Modern "Set on a huge (10,000 acre), flat site, this is a highly distinctive building with colonnades of tipped and tapered columns on its two long facades, a gracefully curving roof hung between them, and a pagoda-like control tower nearby. Mobile lounges are used to carry passengers from the terminal to their planes." Swooping roof gives an expression of flight

plan

Section drawing