Architecture has grown in tremendous heights from since time immemorial where simple structures with a certain rationale and cliché design were being designed and brought up to the current sky scrapers and extravagant designs being brought up. This has been made possible by the immense growth in technology that has influenced architects to go beyond the norm in yester years to transform imaginations into designs and ultimately to structures that are mostly viewed as defying many laws of nature more so gravity. In order to gain a greater understanding of the transformation of the art and architecture industry, two buildings, namely; Richard Neutra, Lovell house of 1929, and the mies van der rohe Barcelona pavilion of 1929 will be thoroughly analyzed to paint a greater picture of a significant difference between well renowned architects.
The Lovell house also commonly referred to as the Lovell health house is a residence that brings into perspective the modernistic international style that was designed and built by a renowned architect known as Richard Neutra in the year 1927. Located in Los Angeles, California, in the United States of America, it goes down in record as an architectural history, and a defining moment by Neutra. The house is designed in an aesthetical manner in which it is in concurrence with the international style of construction. It got its recognition in the year 1932, where it was incepted as an art in the Museum of Modern Art for the fact that it defined style. The house contains factory- made assemblies of windows with an interior finish of transparency, cubism, and hygiene in general. The structure contains minimal detailing in the sense that no apparent design in the building is extravagant. The main staircase of the building is installed with Ford Model- A headlights that gain inspiration from Henry Ford. This has made professionals in the field to describe the building design as a “residential architecture where technology creates the environment (Boutin 27).”
Barcelona Pavilion on the other hand, is a structure designed by a famous architect known as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in the year 1929. It is located at the heart of Catalonia’s capital, Barcelona, Spain, the building was used for the inaugural exhibition of the German section. It also goes down in record as an inspirational structure in the architectural history of the world today. It is popular for having a simple structure, full of extravagant materials that range from red onyx, to marble, and travertine. The building’s interior also contains extravagant furniture that is specially designed for the building, in which the Barcelona chair is housed. Mies design of the building was inspired by his urge to create “an ideal zone of tranquility.” He aimed at creating a humongous space inside the building with few walls and staircases with an intriguing connection of both the interior of the building and the exterior landscape with a pool (Psarra 18).
Both of these structures have come to inspire the architectural industry and bring into perspective the use of technology in the industry. The major difference between these two structures is that Neutra aimed at design a simple structure that is affordable whereas Mies incorporated the idea of extravagancy in his design. Despite both of them embracing technology, Neutra approached a more conservative form of design in which he would even use recycled materials whereas Mies went all out in his design.
Works Cited
Boutin, Marc. Richard Neutra: The ldealization of Technology in America. Diss. University of Calgary, 2000.
Psarra, Sophia. Architecture and narrative: the formation of space and cultural meaning. Routledge, 2009.
Appendix
Images
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Lovell_House,_Los_Angeles,_California.JPG&imgrefurl=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovell_House&h=2448&w=3264&tbnid=NQuJQsMIFU1rDM:&tbnh=160&tbnw=213&docid=3sKx2uOmflXz6M&itg=1&usg=__XEsr47cNsInGhA_2nBKnxpTyd-Q=
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/The_Barcelona_Pavilion,_Barcelona,_2010.jpg&imgrefurl=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona_Pavilion&h=3658&w=5466&tbnid=6YaCa4pF9m0WxM:&tbnh=160&tbnw=239&docid=79b5o0cH8bihyM&itg=1&usg=__ggZzgfy9YqyavkqHh1MnbFrQ3UQ=#h=3658&tbnh=160&tbnw=239&w=5466
