Architecture of the 60's, 70's and 80's tried to get away from the philosophical, ethical and formal dictation of the rationalism by a playful and ironical association with construction forms, architectural historical quotations and stylistically contamination. This lead to postmodernism.
Robert Venturi
Guild House
Along with the Vanna Venturi House it is considered to be one of the earliest expressions of Postmodern architecture, and helped establish Venturi as one of the leading architects of the 20th century.
Venturi declared that "less is a bore" in contradiction to Mies van der Rohe who said that "less is more". He criticized the modernism in his work "Learning from Las Vegas" (1972-1978), and praised the trivial, close to public architecture.
Vanna Venturi House
Michael Graves
Public Service Building (1980- 83) in Portland, Ohio, by Michael Graves who is one of the most important developers of the postmodern language, is one of the first public buildings of the postmodern era. It is classically three-pieced: a structured base with arcades made out of dark granite, artificial light square with regularly little squared windows and as a conclusion a secluded roof. It also contains a "hole" facade and endlessly decor-quotations like garlands or pilasters.
Philip_Johnson
Sony Tower
borrows elements and references from the past and reintroduces color and symbolism to architecture.
Bank of America Center
By Philip Johnson and John Burgee
James Stirling
State Gallery of Stuttgart
shows ambivalent forms like arches, heavy jutting out projections but also horizontal windows of the 20's and the High Tech of the present are like quotations of collage architecture.
He binds the language of modern high-tech with classical romanticism, i.e. the high-tech like glass elevator, romanticized-anecdotal like the garage ventilation-openings as wall break-through, where in front the "broken-out" stones still lay or the bizarre entrance to the hall of changing exhibitions which looks like an Egyptian tomb entrance.
In general it is the heterogenousness of colors, forms and materials which is typical of postmodernism.
Eventually postmodernism became a reproduction of historical buildings of the 19th century, which had already vanished. Since architects orientated themselves at the mainstream taste, the level of the design sank respectively. The wish to recall an approval of the hasty observer drove the architects to a more effect catching and pleasing-addicted design. Because architects put there own vanity above functionalism, postmodern buildings are often nice to look at but rather bad for use. There were bizarre and senseless gewgaws: staircases that lead nowhere or living rooms with inclining walls.
Charles Moore
Piazza d'Italia
Zaha Hadid
Bernhard Tschumi
Frank O. Gehry
Subtopic 1
Ricardo Bofill
Taller de Architectura
Santiago Calatrava
Auditorio de Tenerife
Alamillo Bridge is a structure in Seville
César Pelli
Petronas Panorama II @ Malaysia, KL
Rem Koolhaas and
Ole Scheeren of OMA
CCTV Headquarters @ China
Norman Foster and
Arup engineers
30 St Mary
Jørn Utzon
Sydney Opera House
Rem Koolhaas
McCormick Tribune Campus Center
at Chicago's IIT Campus