LECTURE 10: HUMANISING MODERNISM: SCANDINAVIA
ERIK GUNNAR ASPLUND Stockholm Public Library, Stockholm, 1920-28
ALVAR AALTO In finland , process of ‘ naturalization ‘ of modern architecture had begun in 1930’ Viipuri Library, Vyborg, Russia 1927-35 Pg343 -echo the arrangement of classical cella -inner rectangular precict -façade- in neo classical mode , no adornment -symetrical -ceiling with perforated skylight -curved and textured wooden roof -bound up with poetic reaction to human needs, lighting angles & flow of sound
Tuberculosis Sanatorium, Paimio, 1929-33
Pg343 -focus on function -cure tuberculosis – cure was to get exposure to sun, fresh air & greenery -‘sanitary’ philosophy & visual aspects of the new style -openess of façade & freedom of circulation -each function was expressed in a slightly different form & angled to topography of the site -splayed plan & slender slabs permitted light to penetrate the building at all points -announced its healing function through clean forms, tidy proportion & well-lit volumn
Villa Mairea, Noormarkku, 1938-39
Pg346 -romantic modernism -L shape , aalto used frequently -a semi-private enclose on 1 side ; a formal edge to confront public world on other side -interior material – stone,wood, bricks -aalto induldged in a virtual ‘ forest mytology’ on the nature of structure & cladding -matting both natural & artificial materials in interior -theme of ‘natural house’ -the formal diciplines of classicism , the philosophy & forms of international modern movement & regional vernacular all contributed to the synthesis .but its form were utterly transformed
Finnish Pavilion, New York World's Fair, USA ,1939
Baker House Dormitories, MIT. Boston, USA, 1947-48
Pg564 -serpentine spine -contrast in geometry was reinforced by contrast in material between horizontal concrete & stone-clad roofs & rough red-bricks textured of the serpentine wall -the curves were forms inspired by natural phenomena -rejection of industrialism in favour of a more lasting human themes -aalto’s idea of building as intermediates between human life & natural landscape. Explored in post war years
Saynatsalo Town Hall, Finland, 1949-52
-cubic volume with slanted roof -wooden-slatted windows & balconies were set off against predominant rough red-brick surfaces -building blended with the forest settings & varying levels of the site
Vuoksenniska Church, Imatra, Finland, 1956-59
Pg458 -interpenetration of uneven curves in plan & section -lesser needs for a ‘rational’ order -fan shape attached to a rectangle -aalto’s idea of the transition from town to landscape , from man-made to natural world -basic patterns intrinsic to a true style
JØRN UTZON Sydney Opera House, Sydney, 1956-1973
Pg466 -soaring white curves gutting out into the harbour but slightly -sharp curves of the sail -the sails butting into & slicing one another , rising against the sky -the sail has tense profile , smooth textured surfaces -jorn utzon’s entire approach to design involved an oscillation back & forth between abstraction, metaphor & structural thinking
Church, Bagsvaerd, Copenhagen, 1981