THEORY OF

POSTMODERNISM
 MODERNISM IN ARCHITECTURE
● Modernism is a philosophical movement that, along with cultural trends and changes, arose
from wide-scale and far-reaching transformations in Western society in the late 19th and early
20th centuries.
● The term is often applied to modernist movements at the turn of the 20th century, with efforts
to reconcile the principles underlying architectural design with rapid technological
advancement and the modernization of society.
 CONTEXT
➢ There are multiple lenses through which the evolution of modern architecture may be viewed.
Some historians see it as a social matter, closely tied to the project of Modernity and thus the
Enlightenment.
➢ Modern architecture developed, as a result of social and political revolutions. Others see
Modern architecture as primarily driven by technological and engineering developments. Still
other historians regard Modernism as a matter of taste, a reaction against eclecticism and the
lavish stylistic excesses of Victorian and Edwardian architecture.
➢ With the Industrial Revolution, the availability of newly-available building materials such as
iron, steel, and sheet glass drove the invention of new building techniques.
 CHARACTERISTICS
➢ The notion that "Form follows function", a dictum originally expressed by Frank Lloyd Wright's
early mentor Louis Sullivan, meaning that the result of design should derive directly from its
purpose .
➢ Simplicity and clarity of forms and elimination of "unnecessary detail".
➢ Visual expression of structure (as opposed to the hiding of structural elements) .
➢ The related concept of "Truth to materials", meaning that the true nature or natural
appearance of a material ought to be seen rather than concealed or altered to represent
something else .
➢ Use of industrially-produced materials; adoption of the machine aesthetic .
➢ Particularly in International Style modernism, a visual emphasis on horizontal and vertical
lines.
 POST-MODERENISM IN ARCHITECTURE
➢ Postmodernity in architecture is said to be heralded by the return of "wit, ornament and
reference" to architecture in response to the formalism of the International Style of
modernism.
➢ The functional and formalized shapes and spaces of the modernist style are replaced by diverse
aesthetics: styles collide, form is adopted for its own sake, and new ways of viewing familiar
styles and space abound.
➢ Perhaps most obviously, architects rediscovered the expressive and symbolic value of
architectural elements and forms that had evolved through centuries of building which had
been abandoned by the modern style.
 CHARACTERISTICS
The characteristics of postmodernism allow its aim to be expressed in diverse ways.

➢ These characteristics include the use of sculptural forms, ornaments, anthropomorphism.

These physical characteristics are combined with conceptual characteristics of meaning,
including pluralism, double coding, flying buttresses and high ceilings, irony and paradox, and
contextualism.
➢ The sculptural forms, not necessarily organic, were created with much ardor. Each building’s
forms are nothing like the conforming rigid ones of Modernism. These forms are sculptural and
are somewhat playful. These forms are not reduced to an absolute minimum; they are built and
shaped for their own sake.
➢ Postmodernism, with its sensitivity to the building’s context, did not exclude the needs of
humans from the building. The characteristics of Postmodernism were rather unified given
their diverse appearances. The most notable among their characteristics is their playfully
extravagant forms and the humour of the meanings the buildings conveyed.
VANNA VENTURI HOUSE
ARCHITECT – ROBERT VENTURI
 ● Located in Chestnut Hill,Pennsylvania,United States.
● Designed the house for his mother and built between 1962 and
1964.
● A flat site surrounded by trees.
● Architects first indipendant project .
● Venturi was interested in “complex and contradictory architecture
based on the richness and ambiguity of modern experience.”
● He best explains his views on architecture in a quote from his book
‘’Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture’’:
“I like complexity and contradiction in architecture…I like elements which
are hybrid rather than “pure,” compromising rather than “clean,” distorted
rather than “straightforward,” ambiguous rather than “articulated,”
perverse as well as impersonal, boring as well as “interesting,”
conventional rather than “designed,” inconsistent and equivocal rather than
direct and clear. I am for messy vitality over obvious unity”
● Symbolic imagery of shelter ,symmetrical gable
,chimney poking out in an exaggerated manner from
the back.
● A childs drawing of an house.
● The main entrance is in the center,creating a sense
of symmetry that both is and is not there due to the
placement of the windows.
● Theres a modernist ribbon window for the kitchen
and square windows serving the bedroom and the
bathroom on the other side of the front façade.
● . The arch signifies “entry” and structural integrity in
ancient architecture
● However, he cuts through the arch where the
keystone would be, subtracting the most crucial piece
of a true arch. While the arch still signifies the
dominant entrance to the building, it no longer stands
for structural integrity; it is cut through in the same
stroke as the apex of the non-structural roof.
● Venturi’s arch over the doorway is also an example of
a mannerist application of ornament. Many
postmodern mannerists explored the application of
ornament by painting murals on flat walls or adding
molding and cornices where they were not
structurally necessary or did not make sense.
● In the Vanna Venturi house, Venturi applies a non-
structural wooden molding to the top of the main
entrance to help signify the entry as well as extend
the perceived height of the entrance.
● Grey-green coloured exterior
THE PORTLAND
BUILDING
ARCHITECT – MICHAEL
GRAVES
 The Portland Building, by architect and product designer Michael
Graves, is considered the first major built work of Postmodernist
architecture.

 The design, which displays numerous symbolic elements on its

monumental facades, stands in purposeful contrast to the
functional Modernist architecture that was dominant at the time.

 The young Michael Graves submitted his ambitious design,

despite his lack of experience, partially due to an ally he had in
the jury—his friend Philip Johnson.

 Graves’ colorful low-cost design impressed the jury, who

discarded his competitors' costly glass and concrete designs,
and awarded Graves the commission, knowing the design was
bound to put Portland on the map—which it did.
 The building attempts to create a continuum
between past and present: it’s a symmetrical
block with four off-white, stucco-covered
rectangular facades featuring reinterpreted
Classical elements, such as over-scaled
keystones, pilasters and belvederes.

 The building is set on a two-story base,

reminiscent of a Greek pedestal, which divides
it into the Classical three-part partition of base-
body-top.

 Furthermore, Graves added symbolism through

color—green for the ground, blue for the sky,
etc—in order to visually tie the building to its
environment and location.
 Aesthetically, the highly-styled elements, such as the ribbons and medallions,
were critiqued as lacking the dignity of an official government building.

 More seriously, however, the building was criticized for “superficially” incorporating
a traditional aesthetic without allowing said traditional elements to be functional.

 For example, although the design incorporates arcades, which conventionally

provide a sheltered, interstitial space between the pedestrian and the city, the
arcades that line the three facades of the Portland Building have only two entries
set above street level, making them difficult to access.

 Similar difficulties of accessibility plague the fourth, park-facing facade, which has
only two small doors that lead to a windowless restaurant and a back lobby.

 Users of the building also complain that the lobby is narrow and unpleasant, the
office spaces dark and claustrophobic.

 To make things worse, cracks meant that the lobby and food court needed
renovations in 1990, only 8 years after its opening.
 Nevertheless, the Portland building is
considered a major key-point in
architecture history, bringing
Postmodernism out of the academy
and into the public realm.

 It paved the way for later, more mature

Postmodernist buildings, such as the
Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin
Resort (1990), Denver Central Library
(1996), and the St. Coletta School
(2006).

 Despite its faults, The Portland building

marked an undoubted departure from
the monotony of Modernism.