National Identity - A sense of a nation as a cohesive whole, as represented by distinctive traditions, culture, and language1 The architecture of the Twentieth century has been shaped by powerful social, economic and political forces. This has stemmed from influence of war, diverse political regimes, national and international architectural movements and technological development. Along with this architects and ideas has been able to travel around the world more than ever before and from this designs have become apparent that sought to break with the past. Architecture that was once specific and local has now become global. It would seem that the national identity of the past has been sacrificed for the development of modernity. The beginning of modern globalisation can be seen as far back as the First World War. It is at this point where we are able to start for the range of narrative that were to follow. Back then it was easy to distinguish between “British” architecture and “Saudi Arabian”. However, through time, significant encounters between cultures and technological inventions the national identity that each country possessed seems to be lost in a universal architectural language. Gone are the days of originality in architecture and instead they have been replaced by a uniformity of monumental, glazed structures. Architecture has evolved into a single, modern aesthetic. It is sometimes hard to see where the unique national features and mentalities lie in these buildings, especially with the increased and ever flourishing collaboration internationally. The questions to be asked are what remains of national styles today and how did we get here? What is of a particular interest is how “British” architecture has abando... ... middle of paper ... ...on in Architecture” Interpreted. Available at: http://rebarcollective.wordpress.com/2010/08/13/robert-venturi-complexity-and-contradiction-in-architecture-interpreted/ [Accessed 21 May 2014] Hugo,V,.1831. The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Wordsworth Editions Ltd. Jencks, C., 2014. La Strada Novissima: The 1980 Venice Biennale. Available at: http://www.domusweb.it/en/from-the-archive/2012/08/25/-em-la-strada-novissima-em--the-1980-venice-biennale.html [Accessed 22 May 2014] Thompson,M,. 2014. Architects Journal: London set for skyscraper boom. Available at: http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/london-set-for-skyscraper-boom/8660048.article [Accessed 22 May 2014] Venturi, R., 1984. Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture. New York:The Museum of Modern Art. Venturi,R.,1972. Learning from Las Vegas. Cambridge MA: MIT Press Robert Venturi- Learning from Las Vegas
It is the new decade after the end of world war two and modernism is a well-established practice. Its pioneers and spearheads are prevalent figures looming over the new architects and designers who are trying to make their mark in the shadows of such historically influential people. With new technologies and materials emerging from the world wars the next era of modernism had started to evolved, bringing with it philosophies and ideas which seemed far removed from those of the pioneers of modernism “What emerged in the late 1940s and 1950s was an expanding synthesis of questions utterly removed from the confident statements of the pioneers.”(Spade 1971,10) Two significant buildings were designed in the 50's, both of them for educational institutes and to house students of architecture, there were both designed in completely different styles and methods. The first is Ludwig Mies van der Rohes' Crown Hall, finished in 1956 and designed as a part of a campus master plan for the Illinois Institute of technology in Chicago. Mies' design for Crown Hall is one of his most realised expressio...
Throughout history, architecture has been employed in the service of politics, as symbols of the state. Architecture is therefore shaped by the national traditions in the pursuit of projects of identity, modernity, power, and prestige. A building is not merely a walled structure, but a metaphor for national ideology as it embodies the civic life of the citizens that it houses, as well as the ideals of the nation within which it resides. This paper will explore three varying architectural periods and examine the interaction between nationalism and the building styles that developed either as a means to express it.
In the early twentieth century the Modern movement of architecture and industrial design came about. This movement was a reaction to the change within society and the introduction of new technologies. The ever changing world and technology meant artists to evolve alongside the changing world and this kind of ‘industrial revolution’ that was happening. Modernists ideas have seeped into every form of design especially architecture and design. Although most modernists insisted they were not following any style in particular, their work is instantly
But these contrived differences give rise to esthetic difficulties too. Because inherent differences—those that come from genuinely differing uses—are lacking among the buildings and their settings, the contrivances repre...
The definition of critical regionalism is a direct approach to architecture that strives to oppose ‘placelessness’ and the apparent lack of identity and character in modern architecture through the use of building's geographical context. The term ‘critical regionalism’ was first established as a concept in the 1980s through papers written by Tzonis, Lefaivre and Kenneth Frampton. Throughout Frampton’s writings he mentions and somewhat commemorates Tadao Ando as a critical regionalist and uses the specific advance as a theory to discuss Ando’s architecture (Frampton, 1983).
The essence of modern architecture lays in a remarkable strives to reconcile the core principles of architectural design with rapid technological advancement and the modernization of society. However, it took “the form of numerous movements, schools of design, and architectural styles, some in tension with one another, and often equally defying such classification, to establish modernism as a distinctive architectural movement” (Robinson and Foell). Although, the narrower concept of modernism in architecture is broadly characterized by simplification of form and subtraction of ornament from the structure and theme of the building, meaning that the result of design should derive directly from its purpose; the visual expression of the structure, particularly the visual importance of the horizontal and vertical lines typical for the International Style modernism, the use of industrially-produced materials and adaptation of the machine aesthetic, as well as the truth to materials concept, meaning that the true nat...
Jencks believes “the glass-and-steel box has become the single most used form in Modern Architecture and it signifies throughout the world ‘office building’” (27). Thus, modern architecture is univalent in terms of form, in other words it is designed around one out of a few basic values using a limited number of materials and right angles. In...
In the process of development of human society, architecture and culture are inseparable. Cuthbert (1985) indicates that architecture, with its unique art form, expresses the level of human culture in different historical stages, as well as the yearning towards the future. According to his article, it can be said that architecture has become one of the physical means for human to change the world and to conquer the nature. Consequently, architecture has been an important component of human civilization. Since 1980s when China started the opening and reforming policy, a variety of architectural ideas, schools and styles have sprung up. Accompanying with a momentum of...
The author explains architecture as an identification of place. Architecture starts with establishing a place. We define ‘place’ as a layout of architectural elements that seem to accommodate, or offer the possibility of accommodation to, a person, an activity, a mood, etc. We identify a sofa as a place to sit and relax, and a kitchen as a place to cook food. Architecture is about identifying and organizing ‘places’ for human use.
Curtis, W J. "11. Skyscraper and Suburb: America between the Wars." In Modern architecture since 1900, 144-158. London: Phaidon, 1996.
From my opinion off what I have gathered, I came to an understanding that Critical regionalism can be seen as an approach to architecture that tries to stand up for places culture and identifies the identity of a place where Modern Architecture has failed to, by using the building's geographical context and reference of vernacular architecture. The term critical regionalism was first used by Alexander Tzonis and Liane Lefaivre and, with a somewhat different meaning, by Kenneth Frampton. Critical regionalism could be considered as a particular kind of post-modern response. This response developed as a result of the failure of Post-modernism, together with the influence of Globalization and the spread of Western culture. Critical Regionalism could also be seen as the best solution to cultural issues and the problems of architectural identity. Frampton’s argument is that critical regionalism should not only answer to context, but it should also value the progress of universal modern architecture.
Scholars of the European Union (EU) have a strong interest in the concept of European Union identity (Cram, 2009). The ‘European union’ identity can be identified nowadays, although there are still conflicts between national identities and a shared European identity which can be illustrated by the data from Eurobarameter and other sources. Most people perceive themselves as Europeans, as Anderson (1991) state, there is no contradictory between Europe and nation-state, ‘country first, but Europe, too’ is the main feeling of the public. However, some people don’t consider themselves as European which result from a strong attachment to the national culture. Even though, the tendency of the convergence of diverse national identity cannot be resisted (Cram, 2009). Migration of population within Europe and the implementation of Europe policy accelerate the progress of formation of the shared identity. This article is going to focus on two reasons why people are willing to define themselves as European by showing how their national identities interact with the European identity, mainly in two countries UK and Poland .The first reason is the issue of Euro, which can be regarded as a tangible symbol of a shared identity and can be perceived easily. The second reason is the collective memory shared among countries and entire Europe.
Vidler, Anthony. The writing of the walls: Architectural theory in the late enlightenment. Princeton: Princeton Architectural Press, 1987.
Constantly judged and evolving, the practice of architecture is forever plagued by the future. The future of people, of culture, technology and its resulting implications on the built environment that more often than not, outlives their creators. Much of the conversation surrounding this future architecture currently hinges itself on the creation of new experiences, forms and spatial relationships brought about by technological innovation.
Abstract: New forms in current world have been testimony to the contemporary style of postmodern architecture and are the strength of today’s generation for creating significant architectural standards. Post modernism has blurred the borders between contemporary and traditional construction classical concepts and simply in the field of art and literature. The architectural elements like domes, arches, and classical shapes have lost their identity but the post modernism tries to bridge between these historical forms and contemporary styles. The related architects not only struggled to achieve the image for the buildings but also rejected oversimplified diagrams for living. The post modernism here tries to achieve theoretical base for their designs that creates the excitement in the design program.