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F r ei Otto ’ s inf l uence l o o m s l ar g e o n this co ncr ete s hel l s t r u c t u r e , a n o r g a nical l y s hap ed wo r ks p ace cover ed w ith a thin-s hel l co n c r e te r o of . Th e l i g htweig ht s tr uctur e, s up p o r ted by s teel and even b am b o o i n so me pl a ce s, is s o f l exib l e that it w iths to o d a 7 . 7 ear thq uake i n 2 0 0 1 .
Gautam Sarabhai’s
Workshop Building (Ahmedabad, India: 1977)
Gevorg Kochar and Mikael Mazmanyan’s Sevan
Writers’ Resort (Yerevan, Armenia: 1965) A n exe mp la r of Sovi et avan t -garde design a nd utopia n a rc hitec tur e, this b u i l d i n g s e r ved as a w ri ter’s retre at a f te r the arc hitec ts finishe d the initial gu e s t ho me s i n 1 935. Tragi cal l y, a falling out with the gove rnme nt l ed to b o t h of t h e m bei n g ex i l ed for 15 ye ars; upon the ir return in the ‘60s , they f i n i s h e d t h ei r proj ect by a dding a lounge to the rura l e scape.
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A s m uch a d ar ing eng ineer as an ar chitect, D ies te’ s expe r i me n t s w i t h ma ter ial s and fo r m s b ear s f r uit in this wav y ho us e of wo r s h i p, w i t h a c u r ve d r ib b o n of r ed b r ick that w rap s ar o und the exter io r l ike a po mpa d o u r . I n t r i catel y p l aced s tained g l as s cr eate uniq ue p atter ns o n l ig h t fo r t h e co n g r e g atio n, and the b el l tower , hel d up by a s er ies of p er fo ra te d wa l l s, co n t a i n s a s ty l is h cir cul ar s tair cas e w itho ut a s ing l e s up p o r t co lu mn o r h a n d ra i l .
Eladio Dieste’s
Cristo Obrero Church (Atlántida, Uruguay: 1960)
Andrija Mutnjakovic’s
National Library of Kosovo (Prishtina, Kosovo: 1971) A ch a r mi n g h od gepod ge of s t y les, mate ria ls, and reference s, Mutnjakov ic’ s ma ste r p i e ce mel d s i n - s i t u cast conc rete , marble f loors, a nd a serie s of 9 9 t ra ns lu ce n t acr yl i c d om es to cr e ate a struc ture tha t not only ma rries the mu l t i c u lt u ra l i n f l uen ces of t h i s B a lka n na tion, but of fe rs mode rn ta kes o n t h e t i m e le ss arch i tect ure of the B yzantium a nd the O ttoma n emp ir es .
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Architecture is the reaching out for the truth. Louis Kahn
As more and more cutting-edge examples
of Modernist architecture reach or exceed
middle age, the toll of time, erosion, and
environmental damage puts them at risk.
Th a n ks t o t h e wo r k o f t h e G e t t y F o u n d a t i o n ,
which has made preservation of these cultu-
ral and artistic gems a priority, many of the
best works of the 20th century will receive
a
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renovation.
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