Humanities 1301
Introduction to the
Humanities
Essay Topics
Architecture comparison
For this assignment, you will choose a pair of architectural examples in the Dallas area from the list of pairs below. Each pair represents two different time periods and architectural styles in the recent history of architecture in this country: modernist architecture and postmodernist architecture.
Visit each architectural example in your chosen pair and take very detailed notes on the characteristics of each. At the bottom of this assignment description is a discussion of each of these two architectural styles, describing their major characteristics and principles. Use the information there to guide you in your note-taking. After taking your notes on each example, analyze and compare the buildings according to the following questions:
- What important characteristics identify each of these architectural examples as representative of their respective styles (modernist and postmodernist)? Be sure to consider as many aspects of each building (or complex of buildings) as you can in carrying out this analysis; use as much detail as possible.- Then, after analyzing each example separately, you should draw comparisons between the two structures as well as pointing out contrasts. What similarities exist between the two structures? What important differences mark them off as being representative of differing architectural philosophies? How do these differences affect the way you respond to each of these structures (or complex of structures)?
Here are the pairs to choose from:2 office towers in downtown Dallas: Elm Place (Elm St. between Field and Akard) and Chase Tower (Ross Ave. at Pearl St.)
2 corporate campuses in Richardson: Texas Instruments campus (N. Central Expwy at I-635) and Nortel campus (N. Central Expwy at Campbell Rd.)
2 shopping malls: NorthPark Mall (N. Central Expwy at Northwest Highway) and Stonebriar Mall (Preston Rd. and Highway 121)
2 movie theater complexes: AMC GlenLakes 8 (N. Central Expwy at Walnut Hill) and AMC Grand 24 (I-35E at Northwest Highway)
(If you need additional directions to any of these locations, contact me.)
You may consult your textbook for additional information on modernist and postmodernist architecture. (Information can be found in Book 6 on pp. 20-23, 87-88, and 162-166.) You should not consult any other sources besides your texbook and the material given here. If you have additional questions about these architectural styles, please contact me.
Your comparative essay should be 1300-1800 words in length, and it should be submitted to me as an e-mail attachment following the guidelines provided on the Syllabus page and Orientation page. (Please review my instructions regarding the Essay assignment on the Syllabus and Orientation pages. Failure to follow those guidelines will result in point deductions from your score.)
Architectural modernism
Architectural modernism displays an aesthetic approach based upon abstraction, rigid geometries, and an ideology of "purity" in architectural design. It emphasizes a kind of rationalism in thinking about the relationship between space and the human beings who occupy and use it, pursuing a functional determinism that claims that "form should follow function." The result is a design style that stresses simplicity and the rejection of all or almost all inessential elements or decoration--also referred to as minimalism ("less is more").
Modernist architecture utilizes three primary building materials: structural steel, steel-reinforced concrete, and sheet glass. As a result, its buildings came to be thought of as "glass boxes." Modernism in architecture began to move to the foreground in the years immediately after World War II (late 1940's), and it dominated architecture in the U.S. and Europe for the next 25 years. These "glass boxes" came to define the most recognizable look of the skylines of major cities across the United States.
Some classic examples of the modernist style in architecture include the UN Secretariat building and the Seagram Building in New York City (also Book 6, pg. 87), the Sears Tower and the John Hancock Center in Chicago, and the former World Trade Center towers in New York.
Architectural postmodernism
Architectural postmodernism was a reaction against the modernist style. In contrast to the modernist mantra of "less is more," one of the leading architects of the postmodern style said, "less is a bore." The aesthetic of postmodern architecture is based upon visual complexity, individuality, fun and wit. It moves away from the sheet-glass skins of modernism to the use of a variety of stone masonry exteriors with richer textures and a wider variety of colors than found in the modernist design palette.
Postmodernist architecture also tends to play with, or up end, the rigid geometries of modernist style, turning them inside out or upside down or twisting them either subtly or radically. It also enjoys "quoting," or borrowing, bits and pieces from various architectural styles and traditions (as far back, even, as the classical past), and then combining those bits and pieces in unexpected or unorthodox ways in the same building. Sometimes, there's no single, dominant design controlling the structure.
The postmodern architectural style begins in force in the 1970's, and it is still very influential today. Some classic examples of the postmodern style include the AT&T Building in New York City, the Portland Building in Portland, Oregon, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain (also Book 6, pg. 165), the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.