Modernist Buildings Research Articles

Assessment of current state of Modernist building heritage of Skopje in terms of sustainability, energy efficiency and authentic appearance degradation

Skopje has unique examples of modernist architecture that play a major role in creating the new identity of the city, which was completely lost after the earthquake in 1963. In the last decade, awareness has been raised that modernist buildings deserve to be protected as cultural monuments. On the other hand, concerning energy efficiency and sustainability aspect, they were built without thermal insulation and thus have extremely poor thermal properties. In order to improve the energy efficiency, retrofit interventions are constantly being implemented and their authentic appearance have been changed. Many buildings have already been changed to an unrecognizable stile which threatens the overall architectural identity of the city. Therefore, systematic research has been done on 50 valuable buildings from the period of Modernism in Skopje. The buildings are selected according to their architectural, structural and cultural-historical values. They are analysed from following aspects: construction, building materials, thermal properties, function, cultural heritage protection, level of authenticity degradation, preservation and retrofit measures. The purpose of this paper is to define the most common types of buildings, which are in same time the most problematic in terms of energy efficiency, sustainability and authentic appearance.

Reading Administration Periods in Built Environment through the City of Lefke-Cyprus

Purpose The urban settlement, space and architecture, which can transformation with the cultural politics and sanctions of the administration, are the most significant indicators of local culture and its continuity. With this approach, in this article, it is aimed to determine the effects of administrative periods on the built environment and so, to document the immovable cultural heritage. Design/Methodology/Approach The residential environment is the cultural values that carry the architectural codes of the local culture from the past to the present. In the formation of these values, cultural ve spatial policies of the administration together with universal developments such as architectural style, construction technologies and so on as well as geographical location, climate and lifestyle are determinant. In this spiral relationship, while the residential environment of the city of Lefke was examined by focusing on the city's own administration periods, cultural heritage values were questioned and documented. The basis of this approach is to define these values, the first stage of the heritage management system envisaged by the World Heritage Committee, with a "values-led approach" and thus obtain the statement of significance, that is, clues for management strategies. Findings The traditional and/or historical housing and its pattern have been included in three frameworks, "typological, chronological-regional, and thematic" determined for cultural heritage in 2000s. In all of these frameworks, the effects of time / space and the administration periods on social and spatial structure are emphasized. In this study, it is documented that the residential environment was shaped according to the administration periods and that its traditional housing and its pattern and some modernist buildings which convey the art deco architectural style are cultural heritage within these frames in the city of Lefke. Research Limitations The issues such as the sustainability or management process of cultural heritage values are externalities of this study. Social/Practical Implications This study should be helpful in defining the immovable cultural heritage according to current international policies, approaches and principles. Originality/Value The residential environment and traditional housing in the city of Lefke are described for the first time with this study.

Burdensome legacy of sports and tourism facilities from the time of the Polish People’s Republic

“Unwanted child”, “ill born”, “concrete monsters”, “tendentious” – architecture created during the previous regime in Poland has been called many names. It has been accused of faulty craftsmanship, failed stylistics and dehumanized scale of settlements. However, this seems like throwing the baby out with the bathwater, as the designers of the post-war Modernism era took great care both of the stylistics and the functionality of their designs. Even despite having to design in extremely difficult political and economic circumstances. There were shortages of qualified labour and construction materials, and political propaganda interference on a daily basis. But the architects collaborated with painters and sculptors, and at the same time, observed the CIAM guidelines, producing some of the most imaginative, celebrated and humane examples of architecture in modern-day Poland. There is nothing to be said but praise about architecture for leisure and recreation in the form of the PTTK Tourist House in Płock designed by Marek Leykam, Ustroń-Zawodzie district by Aleksander Franta and Henryk Buszko or the “Warszawianka” sports centre designed by Jerzy Sołtan and Wojciech Fangor. Architecture is the art most susceptible to ideology, as it cannot be realized without a patron whose interests it serves, and recreational architecture bears the mark of the era of its creation. Sports and recreation were promoted in the People’s Republic of Poland. The employing institution financed employees’ holidays, and therefore, many of the companies were encouraged to build their own holiday resorts. For the most part, these objects were state funded and subsidized when they operated. The large scale complexes, like Ustroń-Zawodzie, were intended for collective leisure of workers originating from that same industry branch. They were the means of propaganda and social engineering aimed at consolidating and showing appreciation for specific social classes. For the less well-off and those who preferred closer contact with the nature Polish Tourism and Sightseeing Society offered accommodations in hostels. As state owned, they were granted priority locations, like the abovementioned Leykam’s hostel in Płock on the Vistula embankment or the Miramar Hostel in Sopot designed by Stanisław Sowiński on the front shoreline of the Baltic Sea. The architects chose the functionalist approach and stylistics that allowed them more creative freedom. The authorities gladly welcomed modernist aesthetics. It fitted the ideology of a new forward-looking society, free of historic constraints. The transformation after the year 1989 significantly affected all aspects of architecture. Many leisure objects and resorts fell into disrepair without funding. Some of them were purchased by private investors and adapted to the contemporary needs with disregard for the original stylistics or simply torn down. On many occasions, the razing of modernist buildings has been met with applause from the general public, despite the efforts of art historians and architects who strive to educate on the merits of the post-war Modernism and preserve the outstanding examples. These objects constitute the so-called “dissonant heritage”, as despite being propagandist, they are also a significant part of a modernizing movement in a country worn out by war and prime examples of the style.

The development of color of historic buildings on the North Bund of Shanghai

AbstractThe North Bund is located in the southern riverside of Hongkou District, Shanghai, characterized by rich historical architecture. The yellows make up a large proportion, followed by the reds and neutrals. The auxiliary and interspersed colors center round the reds, neutrals, followed by the yellows. Dominant and auxiliary colors fall into the category of high and mid‐high brightness and the interspersed colors of low and mid‐low brightness. The color development of the historical buildings on the North Bund can be divided into five periods. Before 1843, the residential buildings centered round light colors like light‐gray and white; the palace and temple architecture were ablaze with red, yellow, green and black. From 1843 to 1985, the Colonial Veranda‐style and classic buildings began to emerge. The dominant and auxiliary colors center round light‐yellow and tangerine with high and mid‐high brightness; and the neutrals make up a large proportion. From 1986 to 1919, Colonial Veranda‐style buildings on the North Bund achieved a dominant position, the dominant colors were light‐yellow, dark‐red and gray blue analogous to the neutrals. The color structure was rather unstable. From 1920 to 1937, decorative and modernist buildings gained in popularity. Red made up a large proportion of the dominant, auxiliary colors and interspersed colors, but the interspersed colors were darker, such as pink and fuchsia. The relatively stable structure has the largest number. From 1938 to 1949, the construction industry proved to be stagnant, and preference was normally given to more neutral colors, having no particular distinguishing features

Reframing Social Value in 20th‐Century Conservation

AbstractThe refurbishment of Modernist buildings while retaining the values of the original design, particularly in relation to social ideals, is a challenge in an era of late‐capitalism. Aoibheann Ní Mhearáin and Tara Kennedy, both architects and academics, present an analysis of the research conducted with Queen's University Belfast and John McLaughlin Architects on St Brendan's Community School in Birr, Ireland. Funded by a Getty Foundation ‘Keeping It Modern’ grant, the research explored how to conserve and retain Modernist buildings while respecting the social aspirations of the original design.

HERITAGE BUILDINGS AS A CONTRIBUTION TO THE CONTEMPORARY CITY: THE RELOCATION OF BRAGA’S DISTRICT ARCHIVE

This paper reflects on the ability to adapt buildings with relevant heritage and historical value to different uses and functions. A case study is presented: The relocation of Braga’s District Archive from the former Archbishop’s Palace in Largo do Paço, a building dating back to the XIVth century confined within the Historical Center’s buffer zone, into a modernist building located in Abade Loureira street, North of the original complex and outside the medieval walled city. The methodological approach and the processes associated with the intervention are presented according to the analysis of the proposed program, rather than by the formal and symbolic features of the building itself. Extensive in-situ surveys took place at the two buildings, comparing both the present and the proposed solution. Based on this analysis, the Program’s adequacy is discussed, displaying the advantages and disadvantages of this change and how it may affect the mission of the District Archive.

Uloga Alfreda Albinija u projektiranju i izgradnji Hrvatskog kulturnog doma u Sušaku te njegovo dovršenje i izmjene

Hrvatski kulturni dom u Sušaku jedna je od najvažnijih modernističkih građevina na području riječke regije koja, uz to, uživa i istaknuti status u cjelini hrvatske moderne arhitekture 20. stoljeća. U ovom radu, na temelju sustavne obrade do sada nekonzultirane arhivske građe, istraživački fokus usmjeren je prema projektnim idejno-izvedbenim inačicama Alfreda Albinija i kvalitativnoj analizi same gradnje, s naglaskom na hotelskom dijelu kompleksa za koji je utvrđen tijek Albinijevih odluka o tlocrtnoj dispoziciji i artikulaciji vanjskog oplošja, te prema dovršenju i provedenim adaptacijama u poratnim i kasnijim godinama koje doprinose cjelovitom definiranju tog složenog arhitektonskog sklopa.

Modern Heritage and the Living City: Arab Identity and Modernization in the Architecture of Abu Dhabi

Our work analyzes some key public, late modernist and contemporary buildings in Abu Dhabi in order to examine how the capital of this Arab country has dealt with issues of local tradition versus modernization, at a time of rapid economic and social change. Modernist and contemporary interpretations of Arab architectural tradition are deliberated as well as, design strategies to create spaces of social inclusion and provide sustainable solutions appropriate for the harsh regional climatic conditions. Our article also argues that recognition and integration of buildings from the late modernist era, such as the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation, are essential elements for a city of sparse historical references, playing the role of “modern heritage”. Preservation of such buildings and resilient architecture can guide contemporary architectural discourse and reconcile local tradition and modern design strategies, thus counteracting uncritical importation of iconic projects in the modern Gulf cities.

Ostrogovićeva modernistička Većnica u Pančevu

Pančevo City Hall, an administration building erected in the city centre, is rarely accentuated in the oeuvre of the Croatian-Yugoslav architect Kazimir Ostrogović, despite the fact that it was the first Modernist building in this Vojvodina city. The City Hall emphasizes the spirit of Yugoslavia and the dominant Modernist architecture of the time. Its modern form, mass, structure, materials, constructive and technical details stand out from the ambience, which until then had mostly communicated aesthetic ideas of Viennese and Hungarian Secession. The author turned to Le Corbusier's principles combined with his own style. The building has great technical value and immense social, cultural, aesthetic and historical values. The goal of this article is to explore all its aspects by thoroughly reviewing literature, examining archives and interviewing employees. To date, the values of the building has not been fully recognized by experts, given that it has not been placed under any kind of protection, while changes made over the years led only to devastation.

Tropical Modernity: A Hybrid-Construct in South China

Parallel to the discourse of Tropical Architecture and the work of UK architects in the British colonial territories in the Middle East, Africa, and India after the WWII, climate adaptation designs or devices such as brise-soleil, perforated cement bricks, sun shading screens, courtyards, etc., started to emerge in modernist buildings in Asia. This article is a preliminary survey of these cases in Hong Kong and Macau since the 1950s. It discusses how tropicality was used in response to the post-war revisionism of Modern Movement that placed emphasis on local identity and culture.

Silesian Theological Seminary and Częstochowa Theological Seminary in Krakow— the Heritage of the Interwar Period. A Study of the History of Organization Management

After Poland regained its independence in 1918, the Polish Roman Catholic Church needed to be reunited, so that thoroughly educated priests could be deployed to work in the newly established dioceses. The system of teaching had to be reorganized and this issue was fi­nally regulated by the 1925 Concordat which guaranteed the possi­bility of creating a seminary in each diocese. A special situation took place in Krakow, where in the 1920s, in addition to the existing dioc­esan seminary, the Częstochowa Seminary and the Silesian Seminary were located. The article outlines the circumstances in which the seats of these institutions were established outside home dioceses and draws attention to the cultural context of the events of that time, whose mate­rial reflection remains as the two modernist buildings preserved in the center of Krakow.

Encounters with Southeast Asian Modernism

Against the backdrop of the Bauhaus centenary in 2019, Encounters with Southeast Asian Modernism examined the history, significance, and future of postcolonial modernism in this region, with partners in four cities – Jakarta, Phnom Penh, Singapore, and Yangon. The project provided a historical perspective on the societal and political upheaval that accompanied the transition to independence after the colonial period in these countries. It also showcased current initiatives in the fields of art, architecture, and science that are committed to the preservation and use of Modernist buildings. In 2020, the project will continue with an exhibition and accompanying program in Berlin.

Invisible Presence of the Past: Hauntology of Photography

Photography has been associated with the specter, spirit, and the apparition ever since the theory of photography first emerged. André Bazin and Edgar Morin saw the spectral features of photography as the basis for phenomenological interpretation. However, the most creative exposition of ghosts in photography is linked to Jacques Derrida’s concept of hauntology. Nowadays, hauntology is often cited in relation to nostalgia – longing for “the lost futures”. However, when Derrida wrote Specters of Marx in 1993, he was interested in the ontological repetition of ideas through history. Photographs created by two contemporary Polish photographers (Michał Grochowiak and Nicolas Grospierre) are an excellent illustration of the French philosopher’s thoughts, as their works focus on the same theme – architecture of the socialist era. The recurring specter of the past manifests itself through it. Grochowiak’s photographs from the Breath series (2010) depict the interior of the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw – fragments of a monumental memorial from the socialist era. In turn, Grospierre’s series of photographs titled K-Pool and company (2011) documents modernist buildings in the post-Soviet republics. In the article, the reference to hauntology allows me to discuss photography as a carrier of eeriness as well as an invisible tool of disclosure. What’s more, it seems that hauntology may explain the role of photography in discussing the political and social contexts of the past. Keywords: hauntology, photography, modernist architecture, Central Europe, Jacques Derrida

Modernistyczny układ urbanistyczny śródmieścia Gdyni jako Pomnik Historii

W 2015 roku układ urbanistyczny śródmieścia Gdyni został uznany przez Prezydenta RP za Pomnik Historii. Kilka lat wcześniej, w 2007 r. zespół ten został wpisany do rejestru zabytków. Śródmieście zostało zaprojektowane i zrealizowane w znacznej części w latach 20. i 30. XX wieku. Wyjątkowym walorem jest unikatowy w skali europejskiej zespół zabudowy modernistycznej o różnych funkcjach. Jest to przez cały czas, tętniąca życiem centralna dzielnica miasta, w której nieuniknione są różne przekształcenia. Wprowadzenie ochrony konserwatorskiej sprawiło, że rozwój i modernizacja tej części miasta, musi się odbywać w harmonii z zachowaniem walorów dziedzictwa kulturowego. Polskie prawo nie przewiduje specjalnych procedur dotyczących ochrony i zarządzania terenami Pomników Historii. Jednakże w celu zaplanowania zrównoważonego rozwoju i ochrony walorów tego szczególnego obszaru, planuje się wykorzystać rekomendację UNESCO, w sprawie historycznego krajobrazu miejskiego.

Spectroscopy investigations reveal unprecedented details in the corrosion of AISI 1012 UPN profiles installed in a modernist building of beginning of 20th century

Abstract In the present work, the corrosion affectation of an artistic and historical building, declared UNESCO World Heritage Site and constructed with AISI 1012 UPN profiles, was investigated. Micro-Raman and microscopy approaches highlight the complementarity and versatility of these techniques to evaluate the macroscopic and microscopic effect of the corrosion products in such reinforcing structures. The rust phases have been assessed by separating the oxide layers according to their environment placement and contaminants contact. The composition of iron oxides and oxyhydroxides in the metal surface depend not only on the oxygen concentration, but also on other elements that penetrated into the porous layers, as for example, chorine ions, sulfur ions, and microorganisms. Taking into account the scarce information on the indoor corrosion of AISI 1012 steel, results obtained in this work are expected to help for understanding the long-term impact of such oxides and oxyhydroxides on the material durability, as well as on its structural maintenances.

Details of Krakow’s Modernist townhouses

The aim of this paper is to present the key features of façade details typical for townhouses erected in Krakow in the period 1918-1939. It emphasizes the importance of the townhouse details for Krakow’s cultural heritage and the pressing need to document them. Since the funds of the Social Committee for the Renovation of Krakow’s Monuments are allocated in the first priority to overhauls of public utility buildings and registered monuments, the modernist buildings have little, if any, chances for renovation. Meanwhile, they continue to fall into disrepair, which makes the documentation efforts even more urgent. Only a few most precious buildings from the interwar period are listed in the register of monuments. The remaining ones are not awarded by appropriate legal protection. Based on the analysis of the influences of a variety of trends on the development of Krakow’s townhouse façades and their details in the period 1918-1939, three basic groups of façades were identified. The first one relied on the historic style, the second, and most numerous one, combined historic and functionalist forms, while the third one emerged under explicit influence of functionalism. Key elements of the historic stylistics include: symmetry and division of the façade into three parts (bossage on the wall base, vertically articulated main part, finial), strong emphasis on the entrance portal, conspicuous cornices and decorations. In townhouses combining historic and functional forms, the prevailing stylistic elements include simple poles, lesenes (often worked in the plaster texture), enhanced with decorations (coats of arms, friezes, etc.). The ornamental-stylistic current typical of the ‘Krakow school’ comes in several different iterations. Few townhouses were explicitly influenced by the European functionalism. Designers aimed at simplifying the detail forms and their geometrization, producing an effect that revealed more deeply the functional content of the mass. The functionalist current in Krakow differed artistically from the avant-garde European projects. Nonetheless, it shared similar rationalist objectives – usability, economy and simplicity. Façade details often served as a link between contemporaneity and previous periods; they took account of features typical of the Krakow’s historic architecture.

HBIM Development of A Brazilian Modern Architecture Icon: Glass House by Lina Bo Bardi

Lina Bo Bardi’s Glass House (Casa de Vidro) is a National Historic Landmark designed and built in the late 1940s in São Paulo, Brazil. The house is one of the symbols of modern Brazilian mid-century architecture. It is a historiographical reference of the history of modern architecture in Brazil. This article reports the experience, outcomes, challenges, benefits, and limitations of the Heritage Building Information Modeling (HBIM) process. The HBIM was developed for Lina’s Glass House considering the following steps: modeling planning; data acquisition; model elaboration; recording of pathologies and damage; data management; documentation process. The HBIM developed includes historical information and geometric data from direct measurements, laser scanning, photographic survey, and pathologies documentation. The model allows professionals responsible for architecture, conservation, and restoration to access integrated information on projects and the current condition of the buildings easily and quickly. Good precision was achieved for important building elements, contributing to maintenance and restoration actions. This experience allowed the development of an integrated workflow of activities for collecting, processing, recording, and managing information that may serve as a baseline for future projects for the documentation of modernist buildings.

Skyscraper Gothic: Medieval Style and Modernist Buildings; The Black Skyscraper: Architecture and the Perception of Race

Skyscraper Gothic: Medieval Style and Modernist Buildings; The Black Skyscraper: Architecture and the Perception of Race

New Brutalism, Again

In January 1955, Architectural Design magazine published its first full-page article on New Brutalism. The article, coauthored by Alison and Peter Smithson and Theo Crosby, asserted that the movement could be attributed to a number of sources: a reevaluation of certain Modernist buildings of the 1920s and 30s, an interest in the work of the architectural historian Rudolf Wittkower, and a respect for traditional Japanese architecture. By focusing on the collaboration between Crosby and the Smithsons, this article highlights the importance they gave to Japanese architecture, which became for them a prism through which to reflect on Modernism and hence on their own work. The article retraces the debates between Peter Reyner Banham, the Smithsons and Crosby, in order to argue for the reintroduction of Crosby’s voice in the formulation of New Brutalism and its subsequent mutations.

Missouri State University—Ellis Hall

Missouri State University Ellis Hall is a 1957 modernist building originally designed for the music department. The building was mostly untouched over the years, despite poor sound isolation and unremarkable, undersized performance spaces. Kirkegaard worked closely with Patterhn Ives on a comprehensive renovation that included replacing the building mechanical systems and much of its exterior curtain wall. The interior is a virtual gut/rehabilitation, but wherever possible existing walls were incorporated into new sound-isolating assemblies to avoid unnecessary expense. The substantial scale of the project compared to the very limited budget required the design team to find carefully calibrated solutions for what to reuse and what to replace. One of the greatest challenges was to provide an acoustic superior recital hall, a goal that the School of Music emphasized as critical to the future of their program, from a renovation of the low-ceilinged existing recital hall. The solution was to demolish the hall's floor slab to capture the room volume from an under-used rehearsal room below, while preserving the upstage pipe organ and a handsome wood side wall. The result is a very successful new 240 seat recital hall in the shell of the old hall.