Avant-Garde movements in terms of Normative and Non-Normative Architecture
During the 20th Century various avant-garde movements have emerged within the context of major architecture. Normative architecture is termed as the architecture of everyday; the major architecture. This position is apolitical, territorial and conservative. The avant-garde takes the opposing position to normative architecture in that the status-quo is not what the leading edge is about. This minor architecture is political and deterritorialized. The 20th Century saw many changes on what it meant to be avant-garde. Leading up to this period of time it changed from universal civilization (18th), anti-industrial & gothic revival (19th), art for art’s sake (late 19th) and lead into the technological progress in the 20th Century. The remainder of this study will cover what the avant-garde is and what changes in thought have done to it over the modern era.
Repetition is about tradition. This is the stance of the Post-Structuralists where the thinkers proclaim that tradition can not be escaped because tradition defines what is outside of it. The avant-garde, the front and leading edge, of culture is continuously being replaced by the next. When the shift occurs, the once avant-garde position moves towards the center of the fabric of society and in time becomes part of tradition. Architecture in these terms is the same; it is always about creating its boundaries. In any period of architecture it can be said it is in one of three phases: Becoming & Changing, Current or Institutionalizing.
The avant-garde in Post-Structuralism has been compared to the Sublime. The Sublime is that sense of feeling terror but knowing you are in safety. That moment in time where the sublime occurs is the avant-garde, but after that moment it follows the same slope. Once the terror no longer dominates it has lost its power and the meaning takes on a completely new meaning to something that once held power. That conversion changes from being avant-garde to tradition.
Not all of the 20th century thinkers believed that the avant-garde was possible. Bernard Tschumi detailed a similar theory to the Sublime. He theorized that you can not both think and experience at the same time. Architecture in this view exists between the conceptual (a thing if the mind) and the perceptual (experience); the pyramid and the labyrinth. Can not be both, but it is. This dichotomy between mind and body presents a paradox. Tschumi also details an idea of architecture in terms of fireworks. “Produce a delight that cannot be sold or bought, that has no exchange value and cannot be integrated in the production cycle.” Phenomenologists argued the avant-garde as well as but as a struggle between socialism and capitalism. These theorists believed it was impossible and came up with the term arrieve-garde. The arrieve-garde was a theory that you don’t start from zero, but you also do not return to the past. They called for distance to be made from the Enlightenment and from the reactionary impulse to return to the architectonic forms of the preindustrial past.
“Over the past century-and-a-half avant-garde culture has assumed different roles, at times facilitating the process of modernization and thereby acting, in part, as a progressive, liberative form, at times being virulently opposed to the positivism of bourgeois culture.”
Posted in Architectural Theory and tagged 20th century, anti-industrial, architect, architecture, avant-garde, bernard tschumi, culture, Discussion, gothic revivial, history, modernization, normative, phenomenology, preindustrial, review, style, sublime by Studio Render with 75 comments.
An Architect’s Guide To…..
An Architect’s Guide To Choosing The Right Drafting Stool
A standard component of any office’s design is a comfortable office chair The average work day is 8 hours, and while you have a lunch break and a couple of coffee breaks spread out intermittently throughout your day, the majority of your time is probably spent crouched over your desk. Given the amount of time spent down sitting down, making sure you have a chair that properly and comfortably supports you is absolutely essential. For architects, having the proper seating in your studio is equally important.
Sure, most standard office chairs are height adjustable, but they really don’t offer enough height for use with a drafting table or a counter-height work surface. Not only does a drafting chair/stool provide more in the way of height, it lends itself better for use with the large width and depth of angled drafting table surface. Here is a basic guide on choosing the right drafting chair for your home studio or office space.
Height Matters:
The first thing you need to consider is the height of your main work surface. While a normal office chair might work best if you use a standard size desk with a flat, horizontal work surface, if your work surface is angled in any way you might want to consider a drafting chair.
A drafting chair should put the lowest edge of your work surface at about elbow height. The seat height should be adjustable (most drafting chairs today have this feature), allowing you to work comfortably anywhere on your work surface. If you work in a shared office space, it’s imperative that you search for a drafting chair that has a larger height adjustment range.
Turn Me Right Round…:
A swivel feature is absolutely essential component to any drafting chair. The swivel function helps to encourage proper posture, keeping you from twisting and turning your upper body when you get up or turn around in your chair. Having a drafting chair with a swivel function also makes working in a collaborative environment easier, giving you additional freedom of movement.
Other Essential Features:
Other important features to look for in a drafting chair include a foot ring, an ergonomically-contoured design and comfortable seating.
- Foot Ring: Since you are sitting higher up off the ground, your feet need somewhere to go. Having a foot ring is therefore a necessity! Your best bet is to purchase a drafting chair with a 360 degree adjustable foot ring. Positioned above the base of the chair, the foot ring allows you to rest your feet flat since you can’t likely reach the ground. Helping to maintain proper posture, a circular foot ring will support your feet whichever way you swivel in your chair.
- Ergonomics & Comfortability: Don’t skimp and purchase a cheap drafting chair if you plan on using it for hours upon hours. Working all day in a chair with little to no back support is a bad idea all around. You risk serious injury, not to mention general to severe discomfort. Your drafting chair needs to have both lower and upper back support.
Chair backs need to be adjustable as well to account for all heights and body types. Backless drafting chairs are not recommended for extended periods. Perhaps a model with adjustable arm rests is a good idea as well, depending on your preference. Arm rests do provide additional support, but sometimes get in the way of your arm movement. Certain models like Herman Miller’s Aeron Work Stool feature a tilt system that actually keeps the sitter’s feet, arms and back support in place whether he is reclining or leaning forward, providing for a seamless transition between postures.
A high quality drafting chair could cost you between $300 and $1,000 so it’s definitely an investment. Whether or not you decide to purchase one should be based on personal preference. You also need to take into consideration your current studio’s layout. If you’re planning on purchasing a new drafting table, it’s definitely time to upgrade your chair as well. Look at it this way – the more comfortable you are sitting down, the more productive you are likely going to be. If you are suffering, then your work is most likely suffering as well.
Posted in Product Review and tagged architect, architecture, chair, desk, furniture, guide, Marketing, office, seat, seating by Studio Render with 28 comments.
Frank Llyod Wright’s Robie House
American architecture and Frank Lloyd Wright[1] is a synonymous pair. It may even be said that Frank Lloyd Wright was the founder of American architecture; the true innovator and visionary of the principals of the American way of life and its landscape. In the time of modern architecture and the Bauhaus[2] movement, Frank Lloyd Wright was not spoken of in virtuous terms. Wright’s attempts to create architecture that was unique to the American frontier did not comply with the movement that brought influence to America from Germany, Holland and France. This influence created an architecture pieced together from other nations rather than one true to its environment. What could be Wright’s Masterpiece of residential design came in the early 1900’s when he was commissioned to design a residence for Frederick C. Robie in Chicago, IL. This Prairie style residence integrated the American Prairie, refuted the white box of the International style and formed a language that was true to American soil without foreign influences.
[1] Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959), American architect, built some 140 structures in residential, commercial and civic design. He became a major influence of 20th century architecture in America.
[2] Bauhaus, School first opened in Weimar, Germany by architect Walter Gropius. Young architects would live, study and learn the theory of “starting from zero”, the key overriding principal of the modern movement in architecture. A style that was marked for its glass corners, flat roofs, honest materials and expressed structure.
Posted in Frank Lloyd Wright and tagged america, american, architect, architecture, bauhaus, Discussion, FLW, Frank Lloyd Wright, Robie, Robie House, Wright by Studio Render with 26 comments.
