Architecture

• The Crystal Palace (1851, London)

• 1,850’ long, 110’ tall
• Iron and glass building constructed for the Great
Exhibition of 1851
• First in a series of “World’s Fair” exhibitions
• Celebration of modern technology and design
• Designed by Joseph Paxton
• Gardener who had experimented with glass and
iron greenhouses
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• Contained multiple gardens and fountains, main
fountains 250’ high
• After the Exhibition, Palace was relocated to
another location in London
• Functioned as a tourist attraction, destroyed by fire
in 1936
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• The Eiffel Tower (1887-89, Paris)
• 1,063’ high (81 floors)
• Designed by Gustave Eiffel, designed bridges
• Iron tower constructed as entrance for Paris’
World’s Fair
• 300 workers, one death during construction
• Tower was criticized as an eyesore
• Shape of the tower designed to withstand the force
of wind
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• The Wainwright Building (1890-91, St. Louis)
• One of the first skyscrapers (11 floors)
• Red brick with steel frame- steel allowed taller
buildings
• Designed by Louis Sullivan
• Rejected traditional architecture- new materials
require new designs
• “Form follows function”- The design of a building
should reflect its purpose
• Vertical lines emphasizes the height of the
building, plant designs symbolize growth
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• The Chrysler Building (1928-30, New York)

• 1,047’, 77 floors
• Originally built for the Chrysler Corporation
• Tallest building in the world until Empire State
Building was finished
• New York builders involved in competition to build
tallest building
• Spire was secretly constructed inside building and
then placed on top
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• Decorated in Art Deco style- geometric shapes

• Top of building- sunburst design in stainless steel
• Decorated with Chrylser automobile features
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• The Empire State Building (1929-31, New York)
• 1,472’, 102 floors
• Name derived from New York’s nickname
• Art Deco style
• World’s tallest building until 1972
• Financed by General Motors
• Opening coincided with the Depression, resulted in
lots of vacant office space- “The Empty State
Building”
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• Building design involves a series of setbacks
• Spire designed to be mooring mast for blimps,
proved to be impractical
• B-25 bomber collided with building in 1945
• Colored floodlights coincide with seasons and
events
• Multiple T.V. and radio stations broadcast from
building
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• Fallingwater (1934-37, Pennsylvania)
• Vacation home
• Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright
• Philosophy of integrating the building with its
environment
• Built over a waterfall- can be heard throughout
house
• Uses local materials
• Constructed around boulders and trees
• Horizontal terraces resemble rock formations
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• Broad expanses of windows and multiple balconies
• Extensive structural repairs in 2002
• Humidity causes mold problems- “Rising Mildew”
• Has been a public museum since 1964
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• The Guggenheim Museum (1957-59, New York)

• Art museum focused on Modern (20th century) art
• Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (last work)
• Organic design (lots of curves), different from
surrounding buildings
• Initially criticized by architects and artists
• Design of building overshadows artwork
• Hard to display artwork- spiral walkway
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• Controversial addition- rectangular tower, 1992

• Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation- non-profit
corporation that funds art museums
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• The Bauhaus Shop Block (1925-26, Dessau,
Germany)
• Walter Gropius
• Art school-architecture, crafts, fine art
• Unify art, craft and technology
• Closed by Nazi’s in 1933- “un-German”
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• International Style- 1920s, 30s
• Foundation of modern architecture
• Radical simplification of forms
• Rejection of ornamentation
• Adoption of modern materials (glass, steel,
concrete)
• Transparency of buildings
• Window- change from hole IN the wall to THE
wall
• Style was independent of location- buildings look
similar all over the world
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• Villa Savoye (1929-30, near Paris)
• International Style
• Vacation home
• Designed by Le Corbusier (pseudonym)
• Helped create International Style
• Dedicated to better living conditions in crowded
cities
• Urban planner (designed cities)
• Designed concrete buildings
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• “The Five Points”- philosophy of designing buildings
• Supporting columns to raise building from the
ground
• Flat roof with a terrace
• Free floor plan- no load bearing walls
• Horizontal windows
• Exterior- thin walls and windows- no load bearing
walls
• Villa Savoye- windows integrate interior/exterior
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• Unite d’Habitation (1947-52, Marseille, France)
• Apartment complex
• 337 apartments, 12 floors
• Designed by Le Corbusier
• Building includes shops, sports, medical, and
educational facilities, and a hotel
• Made of concrete, inspired the Brutalism style
• Brutalism- Geometric forms, roughly textured
cement
• Similar complexes built in other cities
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• Notre Dame du Haut (1950-54, Ronchamp, France)
• Catholic pilgrimage chapel
• Designed by Le Corbusier
• Does not follow “The Five Points,” form inspired by
hilltop location, organic forms
• Made of textured concrete
• Thick walls (7’ in places) with colored glass set
deeply into them
• Interior and exterior pulpits
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• The Seagram Building (1954-58, New York)
• Skyscraper, 38 floors
• Designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Philip
Johnson
• International Style
• External bronze I-beams reflect internal steel
structure
• World’s most expensive skyscraper
• Window blinds designed to be regular- had three
positions
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• Large plaza in front of building- became popular

gathering place
• New York building code added incentives for
developers to include open spaces