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Postmodernism

AD Classics: Neue Staatsgalerie / James Stirling

Apr 2011

By Andrew Kroll — Filed under: AD Architecture Classics ,Competitions ,Cultural ,Museums and Libraries , Germany, James Stirling, Postmodernism, Stuttgart

In 1977, as part of a city wide planning initiative, the Prime Minister of Baden – Württemberg, Hans Filbinger, held a private international competition to design the Neue Staatsgalerie that would revitalize and reinvigorate the cultural influence in Stuttgart, Germany. The competition posed the issues of making a connection to the older Staatsgalerie that dated back to 1843, as well as traversing the sites dramatic slope. By 1979, the jury unanimously chose a design by James Stirling of Michael Wilford & Associates in London.

Completed in 1984, Stirling’s design incorporated the sloping site as part of an architectural promenade that moved the public walkway through the museum that embodied the transitions of the classical art of the Alte Staatsgalerie and the modern art of the Neue Staatsgalerie into one seamless architectural response.

More on the Neue Staatsgalerie by James Stirling after the break. read more »

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AD Classics: Denver Central Library / Michael Graves & Associates

Nov 2010

By Andrew Kroll — Filed under: AD Architecture Classics ,Museums and Libraries , Colorado, Denver, Michael Graves, Postmodernism, USA

Michael Graves, one of the most respected and original minds of post-modern architecture, was commissioned in 1990 to renovate and design an extension to the Denver Central Library. Known for his surreal and “entertainment” architecture; Graves’ implemented traditional post-modern motifs of abstracted classical forms, natural materials, and colors commonly found in past centuries.

Sitting adjacent to Daniel Libeskind’s Denver Art Museum, the Denver Central Library stands as the 8^th largest library in the United States, as well as the largest library between Chicago and Los Angeles, attracting over a million visitors each year. read more »

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AD Classics: Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort / Michael Graves

Jun 2010

By Adelyn Perez — Filed under: AD Architecture Classics ,Hotels and Restaurants , Florida, Glass, Michael Graves, Postmodernism, Steel, Wood

In a world where anything in your imagination can become a reality, Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida stayed true to their word and hired architect Michael Graves to design a resort consisting of two hotels that would become part of Disney’s famous collection of “entertainment architecture.” Graves’ postmodern, colorful style was the perfect choice for the playful themepark resort, and his whimsical design decisions and statues of grandeur contribute to the famous Disney kingdom. The theme for the design of the hotels sprung right from its early conceptual stages, where Graves developed an entire story to create characters for both the Swan and the Dolphin in a magical tale that he thought could potentially become Disney characters.

More images and information after the break. read more »

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AD Classics: Vanna Venturi House / Robert Venturi

Jun 2010

By Adelyn Perez — Filed under: AD Architecture Classics ,Houses ,Residential , Concrete, Pennsylvania, Postmodernism, Robert Venturi, Stucco, USA, Wood

Most critics usually regard consistency in architecture an important aspect of the design. However in the Vanna Venturi House Robert Venturi took the road less travelled and tested complexity and contradiction in architecture, going against the norm. Located in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania on a flat site isolated by surrounding trees, Venturi designed and built the house for his mother between 1962 and 1964. In testing his beliefts on complexity and contradition (for which he also wrote the book Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture), Venturi went through six fully worked-out versions of the house which slowly became known as the first example of Postmodern architecture.

More on the Vanna Venturi House after the break. read more »

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