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Architects associated
Three major German architects of the period associated with the expressionist movement
were Bruno Taut, Hans Scharoun and Erich Mendelsohn, the latter chiefly for his early
drawings and the iconic Einstein Tower.
Characteristics
Artistic style in which the artist seeks to depict not objective reality but rather the
subjective emotions and responses that objects and events arouse in him.
He accomplishes his aim through distortion, exaggeration, primitivism, and
fantasy and through the vivid, jarring, violent, or dynamic application of formal
elements.
Conception of architecture as a work of art
Distortion of form for an emotional effect
An underlying effort at achieving the new, original visionary.
Profusion of works on paper, and models, with discovery and representations of
concepts more important than pragmatic finished products.
Often hybrid solutions, irreducible to a single concept
Themes of natural romantic phenomena, such as caves, mountains, lightning,
crystal and rock formations.
Utilizes creative potential of artisan craftsmanship.
Tendency more towards the gothic than the classical. Expressionist architecture
also tends more towards the Romanesque and the rococo than the classical.
Though a movement in Europe, expressionism is as eastern as western. It draws
as much from Moorish, Islamic, Egyptian, and Indian art and architecture as from
Roman or Greek
Elastic Forms
Form played a defining role in setting apart expressionist architecture from its
immediate predecessor, art nouveau
Materials in Expressionism
Futurism
Characteristics of Futurism
Futurism is not a style but an open approach to architecture, so it has been
reinterpreted by different generations of architects across several decades, but is
usually marked by striking shapes, dynamic lines, strong contrasts and use of
advanced materials.
Drawings of Santa elia showing the proposal for the future city
Cubism
Cubism was an early 20th century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized
European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music and
literature.
In cubist artworks, objects are broken up, analyzed, and re-assembled in an
abstracted form
The Cubists had technology on their side. Reinforced concrete was making its
way into construction, and enabled them to design open floor plans without
needing pillars
revolt against the excessively decorative style
Cubism can be divided into two phases Analytical cubism, the earlier phase,
continued until 1912. It was followed by synthetic cubism, which lasted
through 1915.
Analytical cubism fragments the physical world into intersecting geometric planes
and interpenetrating volumes.
Synthetic cubism, by contrast, synthesizes (combines) abstract shapes to represent
objects in a new way.
Constructivist architecture
Example of Constructivism
The Rusakov Workers' Club in Moscow is a notable example of constructivist
architecture. Designed by Konstantin Melnikov, it was constructed from 1927 to
1928.
In plan, the club resembles a fan; in elevation, it is divided into a base and three
cantilevered concrete seating areas. Each of these can be used as a separate
auditorium, while if combined, the building seats over 1,000 people. At the rear of
the building are more conventional offices. The only visible materials used in its
construction are concrete, brick and glass.
The function of the building is to some extent expressed in the exterior, which
Melnikov described as a "tensed muscle".
De stijl
Principles of Destijl
The works avoided symmetry and attained aesthetic balance by the use of
opposition.
In many of the group's three-dimensional works, vertical and horizontal lines are
positioned in layers or planes that do not intersect, thereby allowing each element
to exist independently and unobstructed by other elements.
This feature can be found in the Rietveld Schrder House and the Red and blue
chair.
The Rietveld Schrder House constitutes both inside and outside a radical break
with all architecture before it.
The two-story house is built onto the end of a terrace, but it makes no attempt to
relate to its neighbouring buildings.
The ground floor can still be termed traditional; ranged around a central staircase
are kitchen and three sit/bedrooms.
The living area upstairs, given as an attic to satisfy the planning authorities, in fact
forms a large open zone except for a separate toilet and a bathroom.
Rietveld wanted to leave the upper level as was. Mrs Schrder, however, felt that
as living space it should be usable in either form, open or subdivided. This was
achieved with a system of sliding and revolving panels.
When entirely partitioned in, the living level comprises three bedrooms,
bathroom and living room.
In-between this and the open state is and endless series of permutations, each
providing its own spatial experience.
The facades are a collage of planes and lines whose components are purposely
detached from, and seem to glide past, one another.
This enabled the provision of several balconies. Like Rietveld's Red and Blue
Chair, each component has its own form, position and color.
Piet Mondriaan
Piet Mondriaan was born in the Netherlands in 1872. His painting style evolved as he
discovered the new styles of painting of Europe in the early twentieth century. He and his
painting became more European and international and he changed the spelling of his
name from the more Dutch-sounding Mondriaan to the less Dutch (even perhaps
Armenian) Mondrian. He was influenced by Cubism to the point of taking art studies in
Paris at the late age of about forty. He had previously been acquainted with artists
influenced by Fauvism and Pointillism. But these schools of thought in art were left
behind at he developed his own doctrine of art, called Neoplasticism. This aesthetic
philosophy was rooted in his interest in Theosophy. Under the guidance of theosophy
painting became a devotional experience for Mondrian.
Using his doctrine of Neoplasticism as a guide Mondrian and other artists created works
of art which were collectively known as De Stijl (The Style). This started at the time of
the First World War.
De Stijl was not limited just to painting; it also included architecture, stage sets and
furniture design. Mondrian was joined in creating De Stijl by the artists Theo van
Doesburg, Bart van der Leck, Georges Vantongerloo and Gerrit Rietveld. Van Doesburg
edited a periodical entitled De Stijl which gave coherence to the movement and in which
Mondrian published his formulation of the movements aesthetic principles.
Jacobus Johannes Pieter Oud (February 9, 1890 - April 5, 1963) was a Dutch architect.
His fame began as a follower of the De Stijl movement.
Oud was born in Purmerend, the son of a tobacco and wine merchant. As a young
architect, he was influenced by Berlage, and studied under Theodor Fischer in Munich
for a time. He worked together with W.M. Dudok in Leiden, which is where he also met
Theo van Doesburg and became involved with the movement De Stijl.
Between 1918 and 1933, Oud became Municipal Housing Architect for Rotterdam.
During this period when many laborers were coming to the city, he mostly worked on
socially progressive residential projects. This included projects in the areas Spangen,
Kiefhoek and the Witte Dorp. Oud was one of a number of Dutch architects who
attempted to reconcile strict, rational, 'scientific' cost-effective construction technique
against the psychological needs and aesthetic expectations of the users. His own answer
was to practice 'poetic functionalism'.