Building Analysis

Instructions:

Select a building from the list below and analyze its design in terms of its larger social, material and environmental contexts. Draw from the lectures and two of the assigned readings to help you describe the transformation of modern architecture at mid-century within the larger intellectual framework of architectural notions of “regionalism.” In other words, use the readings to help you explain how your building is an illustration of a modernist notion of regionalism, and discuss your building in terms of design characteristics, such as the building’s form, materiality, spatial organization, and structure, as they relate to climate, local (sustainable) building materials and construction techniques, social living patterns, and cultural traditions and influences. Your analysis should be interpretive, as well as critical, and should include at least six images, carefully selected to demonstrate your major points.

Topics*:

Pierre Koenig, Stahl House (Case Study House #22), Hollywood Hills, CA, 1959.
Charles and Ray Eames, Eames House (Case Study House # 8), Pasific Palisades, 1949.
Rudolf Schindler, Schindler House (Kings Road), West Hollywood, CA, 1922.
Frank Lloyd Wright, Hollyhock House, Los Angeles, CA, 1919-22.
Le Corbusier, High Court and the Palace of Assembly, Chandigarh, India, c. 1955.
Le Corbusier, Shodan House, Ahmedabad, India, 1951-56. (I chose this building)
Tadao Ando, various houses, Japan, 1980s.
Balkrishna Doshi, Aranya Low Cost Housing, Indore, India, 1989 (Vastu-Shilpa),
Luis Barragan, Casa Luis Barragan, 1948.
Alvar Aalto, Town Hall, Säynätsalo, Finland, 1949-51.
Alvar Aalto, Villa Mairea, Noormarkku
(Links to an external site.)
, Finland
(Links to an external site.)
, 1938-39.
Louis Kahn, Kimbell Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, 1972
Louis Kahn, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California, 1959-62
Louis Kahn, National Assembly Building, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 1962-82.