Contemporary Versus Traditional Architecture
Historical spiral
Traditional architecture is ts that way of building which makes serious use of the familiar symbolic forms of a particular culture a particular people in a particular place. It is different from modern buildings because of their method of construction, to because of their age or their listed status. Further more, when looking for a property to buy it’s easy to fall in love with an old building. ‘Architecture - modernism vs. traditionalism’(Lance Baker, 2011)
Traditional architecture is that way of building which makes serious use of the familiar symbolic forms of a particular culture of a particular people in a particular place. Classical architecture is that segment of the body of traditional architecture of a people which has achieved the highest, most articulate, and most re ned expression.
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Vernacular architecture is that segment of the body of traditional architecture of a people which serves the more humble purposes in their society.
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Visual appearance of the built environment contributes to psychological affect and in uences subjective well- being. However, little is known on how residents perceive and experience the visual appearance of global contemporary trends in architecture and urban design. Contemporary architectural styles – inspired by postmodernism and characterized by asymmetry, lack of ornamentation, and industrial appearance – are evaluated less positively than traditional styles – characterized by symmetry and ornamentation. Contemporary architecture scores lower in environmental perception than traditional architecture.
PREHISTORIC
BAROQUE
ANCIENT
MUGHAL
MESOPOTAMIA, PERSIA
CLASSICISM
EGYPTIAN ASIAN, JAPANESE, CHINESE
NEOSTYLES
ANCIENT GREECE ANCIENT ROME HELLENIC BYZANTINE EARLY MIDDLE AGE PRE-ROMANENSQUE CAROLIGNIAN RENNAISANCE
NEOGOTHIC NEORENNAISANCE NEOBAROQUE NEOCLASSICISM ROMANTICISM ORIENTALISM
OTTONIAN RENNAISANCE
REACTION TO INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
MEDIEVAL
ARTS AND CRAFT
BYZANTINE ROMANESQUE GOTHIC ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE DRAVIDIAN ARCHITECTURE NATIVE AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE RENNAISANCE COLONIAL
MODERN
Symmetry - asymmetry
WWI
Way of living
TRADITIONAL
Industrial revolution
WWII
Materials
MODERN
Globalization
Social changes
Global crisis
CONTEMPORARY
Technology
ROMANTISM
ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE BALLER, SZYSZKOWITZ-KOWALSKI
RIFT, RUPTURE, FRACTURE SITE, HOLLEIN
SOCIAL ROMANCE
REACTION: POSTMODERNISM
COMERCIALLY USED MODERN
BOFILL, STERN, SMITH
RETROSPECTIVE POSTMODERN
MODIFIED HISTORISM GRAVES, KRIER, JOHNSON
REGIONALISM DIXON, HILMER-SATTLER
PERSPECTIVE POSTMODERN
STIRLING, HOLLEIN
ROSSI, UNGERS, BOTTA
CONTINUING MODERN
PLURALISM
INDIVIDUALSM RATIONALISM
EVOLVED MODERN
CLASSICAL MODERN - LE CORBUSIER, BAUHAUS, ETC.
HISTORISM
CONTINUING CLASSICAL MODERN
ABSTRACT CLASSICAL
MEIER, ANDO, HERZBERGER, BEHNISCH
HIGH-TECHNOLOGY, HIGH-TECH FOSTER, ROGERS
DECONSTRUCTIVISM GEHRY, EISENMANN, HIMMELBLAU
ORGANICAL
ORGANICAL ROMATICISM
POSTMODERN HISTORISM
POSTMODERN INDIVIDUALISM
CONTIUING CLASSICAL MODERN
DECONSTRUCTIVISM
ROMANTICISM, RIFT AND FRACTURE
POSTMODERN MODIFIED HISTORISM
POSTMODERN RATIONALISM
HIGH-TECH
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With the Bauhaus masters in the 1920s, Europe ushered in a new world of modernist architecture that changed the way cities look all over the world. For the rst time, young architects prioritized form and ow, cleanness and function over the gilded, and at times garish, facades of buildings built in centuries past. This movement inspired generations of architects, industrial designers, watch makers, and furniture makers, men and women who built some of the world’s most iconic and recognizable buildings that stand in cities in Europe and elsewhere. Just like the modernists such as Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, and Walter Gropius changed the look, feel, and philosophy of architecture in the 20th century, a more contemporary generation of European architects is once again changing how buildings of all sorts are being designed and built.
LUDWIG MIESE VAN DER ROHE, Modernism
ROBERT CHARLES VENTURI JR, Postmodernism
One of the founding fathers of Modern architecture (along with Le Corbusier), Miese van der Rohe’s architecture was like an architectural revolution. Liberating the architectural vocabulary from stylistic exercises through the consistent elimination of excess ornament and redundant form, he created a tabula rasa from which pure concepts and spaces could emerge. For his followers the revolutionary movement gradually degenerated as the liberating mantra became starvation of the imagination, turning the freedom from style into a stylistic straightjacket itself. The result is relentless repetition of identical anonymous boxes that dominate vast areas of the contemporary city.
As a counterrevolution agains the limited choice of vocabulary for the orthodox modern architect, Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown started looking at the contemporary city outside the realm of modern architecture. By “Learning from Las Vegas”, they reintroduced symbolism and signs in the architectural palette, offering “complexity and contradiction” in place of simplicity and consistency. The counterrevolution against the monotony of strictly modern architecture, in turn led to its own epidemic of indistinguishable Postmodern towers no more varied nor interesting than their Modern siblings.
REM KOOLHAAS Rem Koolhaas, nicknamed the Le Corbusier of our times, is often misunderstood as being a protagonist of the conditions he investigates. In his essays he has explored phenomena such as the Berlin Wall, the Generic City, Size, China, Globalization, Shopping, etc., attempting to suspend judgment and prejudice in order to fully appreciate and comprehend the world as it actually is. As such, “more is more” is not a manifesto, rather an observation that in Junk-space (the residue that mankind leaves on this planet), accumulation and addition has replaced higher forms of organization such as hierarchy and composition. Understanding precedes action.
IT IS NOT THE STRONGEST OF THE SPECIES THAT SURVIVES NOR THE MOST INTELLIGENT, IT IS THE MOST ADAPTABLE TO THE CHANGE. CHARLES DARWIN
OIKOS, LOGOS “LIVING IN ORDER”
DEVELOPMENT ECOLOGY
INVESTMENTS
SUSTAINABILITY
CIRCULAR ECONOMY
PARTICIPATION
SOCIAL ASPECT
CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE • Contemporary architecture, mostly inspired by postmodernism and high-tech architecture, is constantly spreading all over the world. • Global urbanization and urban densi cation, combined with globalization, result in a universal style of architecture that is taking over traditional styles linked to the history and traditions of each place. • This global contemporary style of architecture is usually the style embraced by architecture schools worldwide.
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• For example, the inspiration for many young architects, is also contributing to the embracement of contemporary architecture as the prevalent architectural style. Cityscapes of downtown New York or Shanghai are looking more and more similar, despite belonging to very different cultures.
CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE • Contemporary architecture has been both praised and criticized heavily. Notable works of contemporary architecture by “star architects” have been glori ed as contemporary city landmarks and symbols of the art of architecture. • Such landmarks are often employed by national and local governments to attract tourism, businesses, investment, and capital. These strategies, however, have been heavily debated for their social sustainability. • They are criticized for being undemocratic and for favouring certain economic gains over providing social equity and covering the needs of local residents. Contemporary architecture and its developers and architects are criticized for being motivated by individualistic purposes inspired by the phenomenon of “star architecture”. • They are criticized for prioritizing individual glory and success through design rather than seeking to create liveable built environments and cities.
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• Moreover, contemporary designs are criticized by some for not being in harmony with the rest of the city, for being disruptive to local history, and for causing cities to lose their local identity.
CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE • The most obvious question on the debate between contemporary and traditional architectural styles is aesthetics. • The asymmetry, lack of ornamentation, and industrial appearance in contemporary architecture are endorsed by some for being groundbreaking, interesting, impressive, while others consider it a barbaric process which spreads suffering / injustice around the world. Nevertheless, what do residents think?
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• Do they nd global contemporary architecture aesthetically pleasant? What emotions does it generate for city residents? Is it more pleasant than the more traditional styles that are being abandoned?
CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE • Aesthetics and environmental perception are not just matters of opinion however, they have been found to signi cantly contribute to subjective well-being. • Recent studies suggest that aesthetically pleasing built environments can increase happiness, and that positive emotional response to the built environment is directly associated with greater life satisfaction.
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• Despite the importance of aesthetics for well-being, deep research on perceptions of contemporary versus traditional architecture and urban design is almost nonexistent.
TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURE • Contemporary architects work in several different styles, from postmodernism, high-tech architecture and new interpretations of traditional architecture to highly conceptual forms and designs, resembling sculpture on an enormous scale. • Therefore, traditional architecture often forms a base and topic of study for current architects. This helps them it to tudy and form conclusions & then implement it into their current contemporary designs. • Traditional architecture is very important, but in the present condition in the world: globalization, fast paced life, expensive living, lack of space, contemporary architecture is spreading its wings faster and developing` its hold all around the world.
SOURCES • https://www.kelosa.com/blog/en/architecture/traditional-vs-contemporary-architecture-the-energy-challenge/ • https://artscolumbia.org/modern-architecture-and-traditional-architecture-5887/ • https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/267/5/052017/pdf • https://nmbu.brage.unit.no/nmbu-xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/2823394/ Contemporary+versus+traditional+architecture+-+Cities+-+Mouratidis%2C+Hassan+2020.pdf?sequence=1 • Yes is More, Bjarke Ingels Group • https://issuu.com/kalpakkalaworks/docs/kala_kalpak • https://blog.marcantonioarchitects.com/traditional-architecture-faq/ • https://s3da-design.com/traditional-architecture-versus-modern-architecture/