#modernism
At last - common sense:
The word modern, first recorded in 1585 in the sense “of present or recent times,” has traveled through the centuries designating things that inevitably must become old-fashioned as the word itself goes on to the next modern thing. We have now invented the word postmodern, as if we could finally fix modern in time, but even postmodern (first recorded in 1949) will seem fusty in the end, perhaps sooner than modern will. Going back to Late Latin modernus, “modern,” which is derived from Latin modo in the sense “just now,” the English word modern (first recorded at the beginning of the 16th century) was not originally concerned with anything that could later be considered old-fashioned. It simply meant “being at this time, now existing,” an obsolete sense today. In the later 16th century, however, we begin to see the word contrasted with the word ancient and also used of technology in a way that is clearly related to our own modern way of using the word. Modern was being applied specifically to what pertained to present times and also to what was new and not old-fashioned. Thus in the 19th and 20th centuries the word could be used to designate a movement in art, modernism, which is now being followed by postmodernism. — https://web.archive.org/web/20080622132303/http://www.bartleby.com/61/28/M0362800.html
Love these - have never seen them with the cat
#modernism #eames
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/charles-ray-eames-saul-steinberg-cat-chair-2325229
MODARK - Modernist Architecture
Embassy Court 1
This blog post, made up from photographs I took mostly during July and August 2021, focusses on Modernist architecture from the 1930s, especially Wells Coates’ Isokon and Embassy Court flats.
Embassy Court 2
Part of my time in Brighton & Hove during July 2021 was spent looking for a flat for my father to move in, relocating from South-West London to the City where he was born and brought up. We found a lovely flat, in the iconic 1930s Modernist seafront block, Embassy Court. It’s a building both my Dad (who was an architect) and I previously admired, so looking round was a real treat for me.
Embassy Court 3
As I had already admired the building, I was photographing Embassy Court before thinking about flats there – the two photos above (Embassy Court 2 and 3) were taken in the last year/last few months.
Southgate Underground Station
I love 1930s modernist architecture, and it has often been a subject of my photography. Seven years ago, back in 2014, I started a project photographing the most beautiful various architecture of some London Underground stations. The fascination was prompted especially by the 1930s designs of Charles Holden and others, best seen on the extremities of the Piccadilly and Central lines.
Left to right, top to bottom: (1) Southgate detail (2) Southgate escalators (3) Cockfosters
It’s one of those projects I never finished editing. I still plan to produce a collection/book of colour photos from the project one day, but in the meantime I have made some of the photos black and white for this MODARK blog post and collection on flickr.
Southgate Underground station (arch. Chares Holden, 1934) in N14, near the northern most end of the Piccadilly line is one of the finest – with elements of both Art Deco and modernism.
LR,TB: (1) Arnos Grove (2) Bounds Green (3) Arnos Grove ticket hall
Nearby Cockfosters (Holden, 1933) at the end of the Piccadilly line, Arnos Grove (Holden, 1932), and Bounds Green (Holden, 1932) are further fine examples of the pioneering style of the early 1930s station design.
Gants Hill
Gants Hill (Holden, 1947) at the east end of the Central Line is later but the wonderful lower concourse is based on the 1930s palatial architecture of the Moscow Underground system.
De La Warr Pavilion - Spiral staircase
The South coast also encouraged my interest in modernist architecture. Back in 2010, during a weekend photographing Dungeness and around, I visited Bexhill-on-Sea and was blown away by the incredible De La Warr Pavilion (arch. Eric Mendelsohn & Serge Chermayeff, 1935).
One of my favourite photographs is the one I took of the spectacular spiral staircase from below, with a medium format film camera lying on the floor looking up. The almost abstract geometry and design simplicity of the composition sums up the modernist movement.
Isokon 1
Modernism is often confused with Art Deco, a style of modern architecture and design originating mainly from France in the early 20th century that reached its height in the 1920s and 30s. Art Deco combines modern, often streamlined styles with fine craftsmanship, decoration and rich materials. Some of the best skyscrapers in New York (e.g. the fabulous Chrysler building) represent good examples of the architectural style, as do many Odeon cinemas in England which, common to Art Deco, include references to Egyptian or Mexican motifs.
Isokon 2
Modernism, which comes a little later, has some of the streamlined futuristic elements of Art Deco but generally rejects and is a reaction against its decorative, luxurious ostentation. It is more functional, more minimalist.
Isokon 3
The best description of modernism in architecture I could find is this one from the RIBA:
_ _
_“Rejecting ornament and embracing minimalism, Modernism became the single most important new style or philosophy of architecture and design of the 20th century. It was associated with an analytical approach to the function of buildings, a strictly rational use of (often new) materials, structural innovation and the elimination of ornament. It was also known as International Modernism or International Style, after an exhibition of modernist architecture in America in 1932 by the architect Philip Johnson. _
_
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The style became characterised by an emphasis on volume, asymmetrical compositions, and minimal ornamentation. In Britain, the term Modern Movement has been used to describe the rigorous modernist designs of the 1930s to the early 1960s. Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier were the pioneers of the movement, with the latter having a profound impact on the design of many public housing schemes in Britain.”
Isokon 4
Embassy Court was the work of Wells Coates, a Canadian modernist architect who was born in Tokyo. Coates began as an engineer, with a great intellectual interest. He was influenced by Japanese living spaces, modernist literature (Joyce, Huxley, Woolf), philosophy (Rousseau, Hegel, Kant), Marxism (briefly) the German Bauhaus movement (esp Walter Gropius) and architects Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright.
Isokon 5
The Isokon building (1933-34), or Lawn Road flats in Hampstead was Coates' first major building in England.
Isokon 6
Isokon was the name chosen by Coates who admired the in-vogue Soviet style contraction of words at the time (Political Bureau = Politburo, Communist International = Comintern, Compromising Material = Kompromat). Coates liked using isometric drawings and came up with the name “Isometric Unit Construction” or ISOCON for the flats, which was then changed to ISOKON.
Isokon 7: Original Waste Paper bin designed by Gropius
We visited the Isokon building in August 2021 so I could see and photograph it for myself, as so many of the motifs are repeated in Embassy Court.
It's not only a beautiful building, but very important architecturally. It is said to be the first modernist block of flats in Britain which pioneered the idea of minimalist, stylish city living.
Isokon 8
The Isokon Gallery is a lovely little (free) museum run by modernist architectural enthusiasts in the old converted garage of the flats.
Isokon was a concept - small (tiny) studio or two bed serviced flats for young professionals. It was the first block of flats in Britain to be built with reinforced concrete and its cantilevered balconies were said to echo the students wing of the Bauhaus building in Dessau.
There was a range of Isokon modernist furniture, much of it designed by some of the greatest Bauhaus pioneers who ended up living in the flats: Walter Gropius, founder of Bauhaus; Marcel Breuer, designer of modernist furniture; and László Maholy-Nagy, head teacher of art at the Bauhaus school.
At the Isokon gallery you can see just how small the kitchens were, view models of the flats and see lots of the Isokon designed furniture. There are many other fascinating stories about the flats told in the gallery - the large number of Soviet spies who lived there in the 1930/40s, alongside Agatha Christie who lived there from 1941-1947.
Embassy Court 4: Front reception.
And so back to Embassy Court where this modernist journey properly begins for me. You can immediately recognise some of the streamlined motifs from Isokon which Wells had just completed a year or two earlier. But Embassy Court was on a much larger scale - with 72 flats, many of them large or very large. It represented a more luxurious version of modern living.
Embassy Court 5
Built in 1934-35 on Brighton seafront, Embassy Court straddles the boundary between 'boisterous Brighton' and the more genteel Hove.|
Embassy Court 6. Top: Columns & lines, Regency and Modernism; Bottom: corridors.
The building was controversial at the time - nestled as it was right up against Regency mansions. It was the tallest building on the seafront.
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Embassy Court 7: Views across Brighton
The 11-floor apartment block is 'L-shaped'. The front faces the sea, South and South East and appears as a bank of white concrete horizontal lines separated by steel framed windows and balconies that wrap around the whole facade.
Embassy Court 8
But the back of the building is more interesting architecturally, with its cantilevered corridors and angular staircases. The 'abstracts' I shot below are all from the back.
Embassy Court 9: Abstracts
Indeed Embassy Court has been described as having " one of the best backs of a building in architectural history ".
Embassy Court 10: From and around the terrace
Fitting with Coates' modern vision (individual gardens were a thing of the past, modern living required communal outdoor spaces) the top of the building features a fantastic wrap around roof terrace open to all residents of the block. The views from here are extraordinary, and on a sunny day looking along the streamlined modernist white lines of the building towards the blue sea you might imagine you are in Miami rather than Sussex.
Embassy Court 11: On the terrace
On each floor there are 7 flats, of different sizes. The biggest is on the corner, offering panoramic views, but each flat, from the smallest 1-bed to the largest 3-bed, 2-reception room has its own front South/South-East facing window from the living room and narrow balcony.
Embassy Court 12: Details
The layout is modern and functional. The 'living space' (bedrooms, living room) of the flats face the front, the 'serviced' areas (bathrooms, kitchen) face the back. Each flat has a separate back entrance into the kitchen which, in the 1930s, could have been used by domestic servants.
Embassy Court 13: Inside a corner flat & balconies
Designed for modern professionals of the era, featuring 'vista' glass to allow UV sun light and England's first penthouse suites the building was described at the time as "thrilling one to the marrow". Like the Isokon the building it originally attracted some famous residents and visitors: Max Miller, Rex Harrison, Keith Waterhouse, Diana Doors and Terence Rattigan were all said to have lived there; Graham Greene and Laurence Olivier to be visitors.
Embassy Court 14
But it shared a darker fate with the Isokon building. Post war both buildings fell into serious disrepair and decline. If you look at photographs from the 1980s/90s the buildings and internal flats resemble some of the worst condemned housing blocks in England. They were both nearly knocked down completely.
Fortunately both have survived, and been restored. Isokon following a campaign by architectural and conservation professionals, but Embassy Court following a long hard fought campaign and legal struggle led by its residents. The block was restored in the mid 2000s and the leaseholders now all share in the freehold.
Embassy Court 15
I hope you have enjoyed this blog post - I have spent more time working on it than any other. I may do a book based on these photographs, and I shall certainly keep making photographs of modernist architecture. Who knows, maybe one day I might be fortunate enough to have an exhibition of these photographs.
I feel very fortunate already to have been able to photograph Embassy Court from inside and out, to learn more about it and, following buying the flat with my father to visit more frequently. Maybe one day to live there.
Coffee, cameras & selected bibliography
You can see all of these photographs (including at high resolution) in my Flickr gallery, here.
Selected Bibliography:
Bauhaus 1919-1933, Bauhaus-Archiv Berlin - M. Droste, Taschen (2019)
Best Buildings, Britain - M.Freedman, Luster (2019)
Brighton and Hove , Pevsner Architectural Guides - N.Antra & R. Morrice, Yale (2008)
Isokon and the Bauhaus in Britain - L. Daybelge & M. Englund, Pavilion (2019)
Wells Coates , 20th Century Architects - E. Darling, RIBA Publishing (2012)
To find out more about some of the subjects covered in this post try the following links:
http://www.modernistbritain.co.uk
http://www.embassycourt.org.uk
https://www.bauhaus-dessau.de/en/index.html
http://www.modernism-in-metroland.co.uk
https://www.architecture.com/explore-architecture
Thank you for reading
Nick
#architecturalphotography #architecture #artdeco #blackwhitephotography #charlesholden #embassycourt #isokon #modernism #nickdemarco #wellscoates
Great article on #women in #architecture in its greatest period:
"Straightening Out Tangles": The Women In Architecture Of The Roaring '20s
SOM unveils plans for Lever House renovation in New York
Architecture firm SOM is renovating the glass Lever House skyscraper that it designed in New York in an effort to preserve the modernist office building's "very important legacy".
Completed by SOM in 1952, the 22-storey Lever House is considered one of the first modernist landmarks in New York, helping to popularise glass curtain walls and the International Style architecture movement in the US.
SOM is renovating the Lever House skyscraper that it designed in New York
However, many of the 70-year-old building's original elements and newer additions are ageing and in need of an update.
SOM's aim for the restoration is to reverse this, preserving Lever House's original appearance while also enhancing its sustainability performance to meet modern-day standards.
Lever House "transformed the design of urban towers"
"Lever House introduced the International Style to America and transformed the design of urban towers around the world," explained SOM partner Chris Cooper.
"That is a very important legacy to preserve," he told Dezeen. "It stands out among all the large-scale commercial development underway around the city."
The International Style was a modernist movement defined by simple cubic forms and the use of glass and steel, stripped of any ornamentation.
The renovation aims to preserve the skyscraper's "very important legacy"
But according to Cooper, the building's architectural significance is not the only reason the renovation is important. Its design and location are also particularly unique.
"Its relationship to Park Avenue, with its unique floorplate and the direct access to daylight, nature, and views up and down the avenue, makes this an opportune moment to reinvest in the building," Cooper said.
SOM collaborating with material scientists
Externally, Lever House is characterised by its rectangular form that is surrounded by a glass curtain facade and stainless steel detailing, and elevated over a marble-lined ground floor plaza.
Many of the materials on the ground floor are now deteriorating, while inside, the 21 storeys of offices still rely on its original 20th-century mechanical systems.
SOM is striving to meet LEED Gold through its improvements to the building's environmental performance, which is the second-highest certification attainable by the green building rating system.
The updates to the ground-floor plaza, which are now underway, include the replacement of paving – which is not original to the building – with durable concrete cast in-situ to resemble the 1952 design.
The ground-level plaza will be updated
Overhead, the plaza's water-damaged plaster ceiling will be substituted for a more durable version, while the surrounding stainless steel columns, black limestone and white marble walls will be restored with the help of material scientists.
"This project required a deep exploration into materials science," Cooper explained.
"We worked with specialists to examine all the primary materials that we were working with, and how we could upgrade some of the existing elements."
The glass and steel facade on the ground-level storefront, which is currently cracked and dented in places, will also be rehabilitated, while existing planters are soon to be updated with new birch trees.
Upgrade will "look as close to its original appearance as possible"
Another key element of Lever House's design is the 15,000-square-foot (1,400-square-metre) terrace on the third floor, which is also set to undergo a complete revamp.
The terrace's landscaping will be updated with new shrubs, flowers and birch trees, while the non-original red paving will be swapped out for grey precast concrete to better suit the tower's aesthetic.
As part of the renovation project, the terrazzo flooring and mosaic tile wall inside the tower's lobby will be repaired, while the lighting system will be upgraded to be brighter and more energy-efficient.
The offices will also be given more floor space and higher ceilings, as well as improved ventilation systems that will maximise fresh air.
The third-floor terrace will also be revamped
"Lever House is so important to the history of our firm and modern architecture, and we wanted to upgrade it to look as close to its original appearance as possible," concluded Cooper.
"These are subtle improvements, but they will really renew the arrival experience and help restore the building’s original appearance."
[ 
Read:
David Chipperfield completes "surgical" overhaul of Mies van der Rohe's Neue Nationalgalerie
Another notable modernist building that was recently renovated is Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin. Carried out by British practice David Chipperfield Architects, the project saw the building's ageing structure and exterior restored while its services were modernised.
The studio's founder, David Chipperfield, described the work as "surgical in nature", in an effort to preserve Mies van der Rohe's original vision for the gallery as far as possible.
The renders are byTMRW and the photography is by Ezra Stoller.
The post SOM unveils plans for Lever House renovation in New York appeared first on Dezeen.
#skyscrapers #all #architecture #news #usa #skidmoreowingsmerrill #newyorkcity #newyorkskyscrapers #modernism #midtownmanhattan #newyork
Eleven buildings that prove Palm Springs is a modernist oasis
To mark Palm Springs Modernism Week 2022, we've rounded up 11 standout buildings located in the Californian desert city often referred to as the mecca of mid-century modernist architecture.
Photo is by Jake Holt
Abernathy House by William F Cody
Sprawled across a plot of land in the middle of Palm Springs, this house by American architect William F Cody is designed for sunny outdoor living, with ample outdoor areas and a lengthy pergola.
Its vast expanses of glass, white exterior and geometric blueprint have drawn comparisons to modernist houses such as Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye and Maison La Roche-Jeanneret.
Find out more about Abernathy House ›
Photo is by Jim Riche
Swiss Miss Houses by Charles DuBois
Charles DuBois, one of modernism's lesser-known architects, is responsible for this collection of low-lying, single-storey residences.
A-frame roofs that stem straight from the ground make the 15 houses stand out drastically from the flat-roofed buildings that cropped up throughout the 20th century in the surrounding neighbourhood.
Find out more about Swiss Miss Houses ›
Photo by Gary Bembridge
Tramway Gas Station by Albert Frey and Robson Chambers
Acting as gatekeeper to the modernist mecca that is Palm Springs, Tramway Gas Station is one of the first buildings visible to those travelling south along the road from Los Angeles into the Californian desert city.
The low-lying building is topped by a huge wing-shaped roof that offers shade from the desert sun, a component found in many modernist buildings in the area due to the bright and arid climate.
Find out more about Tramway Gas Station ›
Photo is by David A Lee
Coachella Valley Savings& Loan bank by E Stewart Williams
Like many other buildings listed here, this bank is topped by a slender overhanging roof, which – along with the panels covering the walls – offers shade from the strong desert sun.
Modernist architect E Steward Williams left openings at the top of the walls to ensure there is plenty of natural light inside.
Find out more about Coachella Valley Savings & Loan bank ›
Photo is by Brian Thomas Jones, courtesy of Patrick Stewart Properties
Hope Residence by John Lautner
Covered by a large domed roof, this concrete residence in Palm Springs' Southridge community has been likened to a mushroom, yet Lautner is said to have modelled the house on a volcano.
Either way, his nods to natural elements, use of curved forms and large expanses of glazing have similarities to buildings by the architect's famous mentor, Frank Lloyd Wright.
Find out more about Hope Residence ›
Photograph by Jake Holt
Twin Palms by E Stewart Williams
Twin Palms was architect E Stewart Williams' first residential project – a house that he designed for music legend Frank Sinatra and his wife.
The 4,500-square-foot (418-square-metre) pad includes a piano-shaped swimming pool, a veranda with square holes and many sliding glass doors that lead outside. The design contributed to William's reputation as one of the Palm Springs "desert modernist" architects.
Find out more about Twin Palms ›
Photo by David A Lee
Kaufmann House by Richard Neutra
Built in 1946 by Austrian-American architect Richard Neutra, this boxy two-storey residence has many recognisable elements of modern architecture – a flat roof, pale facade and shaded outdoor spaces.
Its patios are lined with slatted metal fins which provide shade during extreme heatwaves while also offering glimpses of the large boulders, cacti and palms in the sandy gardens.
Find out more about Kaufmann House ›
Photo by David A Lee
Bank of America by Rudy Baumfield
Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier's famed Ronchamp chapel, with its bulky overhanging roof and curved lines, was the starting point for this bank designed by Rudy Baumfield.
Constructed in 1959, the bank is covered in vibrant aqua-coloured tiles across its rounded south facade. The structure is much softer in shape than the geometric lines typically associated with modernism but its unusual form and plain decor still fits with the style.
Find out more about Bank of America ›
Photo is courtesy of Nelson-Moe Properties/Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
Another Lautner building, Elrod House is a residence perched on the top of Palm Springs' Araby Cove neighbourhood which featured in the James Bond film Diamonds are Forever.
A dome-shaped roof made up of alternating glass and concrete segments, sliding glass walls across the front of the living area and a large crescent-shaped swimming pool gives the house its modernist edge.
Find out more about Elrod House ›
Photography by Stephanie Kloss, from California Dreaming
Palm Springs City Hall by Albert Frey
Palm trees protrude through the open roof of the city's municipal building, Palm Springs City Hall, designed by Albert Frey and built in 1952.
The structure is typical of the modernist style thanks to its low height, flat roof and expansive canopy. Its exterior facade is a light taupe hue to match the desert beyond while the underside is painted in pale turquoise and yellow, matching the sun-drenched city palette.
Find out more about Palm Springs City Hall ›
Photo is by David A Lee
Steel Development Houses by Donald Wexler
These steel-framed houses by architect Donald Wexler are early experiments in customisable prefab homes, designed to provide a housing model that was low-cost, easily replicable and suited to the desert climate.
Each of the seven houses come with a light gauge metal wall system and one of three steel roof options, including a white "butterfly" roof and a flat roof with overhanging eaves.
Find out more about Steel Development Houses ›
Modernism Week takes place in Palm Springs from 17 to 27 February 2022. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.
The post Eleven buildings that prove Palm Springs is a modernist oasis appeared first on Dezeen.
#all #architecture #residential #publicandleisure #roundups #modernism #palmsprings #palmspringsmodernismweek
