MLA 005 – THEORY & HISTORY OF INTERIOR

ASSIGNMENT

Submitted by,

ROHIT.T.RAMESH

M.Arch INT.Arch 1st Yr IInd Sem

Dr. M.G.R Educational & Research Institute

 UNIT – 2
PART B
3. Louis Sullivan, Alvar Aalto, Mies Van der Rohe – Discuss their ideologies
and building typologies of the Architects.

Ans 3. Louis Sullivan coined the phrase “form ever follows function”, which
shortened to “form follows function”, would become the great battle-cry of
modernist architects. This credo, which placed the demands of practical use
above aesthetics, would later be taken by influential designers to imply that
decorative elements, which architects call “ornament”, were superfluous in
modern buildings. Indeed, while his buildings could be spare and crisp in their
principal masses, he often punctuated their plain surfaces with eruptions of lush
Art Nouveau and something like Celtic Revival decorations, usually cast in
iron or terracotta, and ranging from organic forms like vines and ivy, to more
geometric designs, and interlace, inspired by his Irish design heritage.
Terracotta is lighter and easier to work with than stone masonry. Sullivan
used it in his architecture because it had a malleability that was appropriate for
his ornament. Sullivan's philosophy that "form follows function" became one
of the basic principles of twentieth century architecture, and was one of the
foundations of Prairie School style. He uses simple geometric forms but highly
ornamental.
Decorated with ornamentation based on organic symbolism.

Sullivan developed a style of ornamentation reflected nature through

symmetrical use of stylized foliage & weaving geometric forms.
MANIPULATION OF THE ORGANIC

SIMPLE LEAF – FORMS

COMPOUND LEAF – FORMS

Another signature element of Sullivan’s work is the massive, semi-circular
arch.

Sullivan employed such arches throughout his career – in shaping entrances, in

framing windows, or as interior design.

Various decoration in Terracotta done by L. Sullivan.

 THE WAINWRIGHT BUILDING

It is a 10-storey red brick office building located at 709 Chestnut Street in

downtown St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Area of the building is 234,599 Sq.ft and
height is 44.81m / 147ft.
The Wainwright Building is among the first skyscrapers in the world. It was
designed by Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan in the Palazzo style and built
between 1890 and 1891.
The building listed as a landmark both locally and nationally. In 1968, the
building was designated as a National Historic Landmark and in 1972 it was
named a city landmark.
The building is currently owned by the State of Missouri and houses state
offices.
The Wainwright building is credited for being the first successful utilization of
steel frame construction.
The first two stories are unornamented brown sandstone with large, deep
windows. Uninterrupted red brick piers extend through the next seven stories.
Between the piers are horizontal panels decorated with leaf ornaments. The top
story is decorated with round windows and terra cotta leaf scroll ornaments
inspired by the Notre-Dame de Reims in France.
Architect Frank Lloyd Wright called the Wainwright Building "the very first
human expression of a tall steel office-building as Architecture."
Sullivan unified the facades of the Wainwright by treating them as grids of
vertical and horizontal members. He emphasized the vertical members by
broadening the corner piers and allowing them to rise freely to the cornice.
Between the windows Sullivan introduced thin vertically-oriented piers that
serve as visual connections between the base and cornice.
Below these piers are ornamental spandrels which also become unifying
features.

Aesthetically, the Wainwright Building exemplifies Sullivan's theories about the

tall building, which included a tripartite (three-part) composition
Base
Shaft
Attic
based on the structure of the classical column, and his desire to emphasize the
height of the building.
Despite the classical column concept, the building's design was deliberately
modern.
The base contained retail stores that required wide glazed openings. Sullivan's
ornament made the supporting piers read as pillars. Above it there were semi-
public nature of offices up a single flight of stairs. A cornice separates the
second floor from the grid of identical windows of the screen wall, where each
window is like a cell in a honeycomb. The building's windows and horizontals
were inset slightly behind columns and piers, as part of a “vertical aesthetic” to
create what Sullivan called “a proud and soaring thing.” The top floor was for
water tanks and building machinery.

Alvar Aalto’s design philosophy was influenced by nature and organic

materials. With his innovative designs and natural forms he changed the course
of design towards organic modernism. The beauty of his work is hidden in his
design approach of Functionalism but with a strong connection to the organic
relationship between man, nature and buildings.

VILLA MAIREA (1924)

ARCHITECTURAL STYLE : MODERNISM

FEATURES EXTERIOR :
 The courtyard of the villa was inspired by the organization of vernacular
farmstead.
The massing was inspired by the falling waters by Frank Lloyd Wright.
 CC C
F GA I K
K
E K
D L
B
C H
E
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
FIRST FLOOR PLAN

 A – Dining room
 B – Sauna
 C – Living room
 D – Library
 E – Studio
 F – Staff
The interiors follow the grid of 2850 X 2850 m  G – Kitchen
 H – Restroom
 I – children play area
 J – Guest wing
 K – Children’s room
 L – Master bedroom
Teak clad living room projects forward to create shallow balconies that lead on
to the principle bedroom above. Also design elements such as the pool and the
rubble masonry wall add to the aesthetic.

Bedroom windows project out at an

angle to address the line of approach to
the house through the forest.

The main entrance to the – door is

approached under a two level canopy
supported by compound timber
column and screened by miniature
forest of poles.
Screening by vertical poles help to differentiate the interlinked spaces.

To enter this inner sanctum, columns are made to resemble tree trunks are
located at certain points to create the impression similar to that of emerging
through the fringes of a forest clearing.

Mies Van der Rohe helped define modern architecture by emphasizing open
space and revealing the industrial materials used in construction.
SIMPLICITY IS PREFERABLE TO COMPLEXITY.

He believed that the configuration and arrangement of every architectural

element must contribute to a unified expression.

He called his buildings “skin and bones” architecture. He is often associated

with the aphorisms “less is more” and “God is in the details”. He made use of
modern materials such as industrial steel and plate glass to define interior
spaces. He strived towards an architecture with a minimal framework of
structural order balanced against the implied freedom of free-flowing
open space.

SEAGRAM BUILDING

It is located at New York and stands 515 feet (157 m) tall with 38 stories.
Completion of Construction in 1958. It stands as one of the finest examples of
the functionalist aesthetic and a masterpiece of corporate modernism. It was
designed with modernist ideas with an emphasis on the steel frame structure,
curtain wall and rational floor.

Elevation of the building achieves its expressive perfection, and is vertically

emphasized.
MAIN BUILDING

PLAZA

It is a rectangular building supported on piles.

One of the main qualities are the luxurious materials used bronze coated
beams, amber tinted glass, marble, travertine etc.
 The office spaces above the lobby,
furnished by Philip Johnson, have
flexible floor plans lit with luminous
ceiling panels.

These floors also get maximum

natural lighting with the exterior being
glass panes of gray topaz that provide
floor-to-ceiling windows for the office
spaces.

BLINDS

It was evident that a building of such

height would have a huge area of blinds,
whose users tend to upload or download
them as they liked.

The generous plaza to the building the tower itself only takes up 40% of the site.
The plaza attracts many people and creates a procession from the city streets to
the entry, consists of two large fountains and plenty of sitting space.
Amber tinted glass Fountain in front of the building