Norman Foster, Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, Hong Kong China, 1979-86.

It was claimed to have cost more money than any other building in its time (US $668 million) 47 stories and 4 basement levels Employs a module design of 5 steel modules prefabricated near Glasgow, and shipped to Hong Kong 30,000 tons of steel and 4,500 tons of aluminum were used Visuals include, exoskeleton trusses, interior atrium, and an escalator entry through glazed atrium floor One of the few to not have elevators as the primary carrier of building traffic instead, elevators only stop every few floors, and floors are interconnected by escalators There is a bank of giant mirrors at the top of the atrium, which can reflect natural sunlight (the major source of lighting inside the building) into the atrium and hence down into the plaza Sun shades are provided on the external facades to block direct sunlight going into the building and to reduce heat gain Sea water is used as coolant for the AC system All flooring is made from lightweight movable panels, under which you can find a network of power, telecommunication, and AC systems

Draws heavily on Rogers' earlier Pompidou in Paris At the heart of the building is a huge atrium, 14 floors and 249 ft tall Essential services are sited on the exterior of the building in 6 vertical towers, creating large and uninterrupted spaces within The building's height rises from 7 stories on the south elevation through a series of terraces to its full height on the north side Due to its original glazing system the building emits a warm glow visible from the exterior The external windows have triple layered solar Richard Rogers, Lloyds Building, control glass with a ventilated cavity enabling it to London, 1978-86. refract back artificial light into the interior helping to decrease the need for light after sunset The 12 external glass lifts were the first in Britain Used in the building's construction, concrete, glass, stainless steel cladding, anodized aluminum frames and painted steel Incorporated into the building are 864 miles of window gasket seals and 49 miles of ducts and pipes

Michael Graves, Model, Public Service Building, 1980-3.

The Portland Building is a 15-story municipal office building Built at a cost of $29 million, it opened in 1982 Michael Graves' building, with its distinctive block-like design and square windows, has become an icon of postmodern architecture This is the 1st major postmodern building, opening before Philip Johnson's AT&T Building, and its design has been described as a rejection of the Modernist principles established in the early 20th C. Graves' design was selected as in a large design competition, with Johnson as one of the 3 members of the selection committee

Renzo Piano, Waiting Room Kansai Int. Airport, Osaka, Japan, 1988-94. When Piano first visited the site for the new Kansai airport, he had to travel by boat from Osaka harbor There was no land to build on so, the airport was constructed on an artificial island resting on piles Piano drew sketches of a large glider landing on the proposed island He then modeled his plan for the airport after the shape of an airplane with corridors stretching out like wings from a main hall

Rafael Vinoly, Int. Forum, Tokyo Japan's largest congress center, includes 2 theaters, one among the largest in the world, exhibition space, conference rooms, restaurants, shops and other amenities A hull-shaped glass and steel atrium on the west end of the site and a cluster of block like buildings, housing the theaters, restaurants and shops, along the east end of the site comprise the design The 2-block granite paved plaza at the center of the complex serves not only as the entry point and a public space with seating The atrium and other structures are linked by 2 levels of underground space as well as several above ground glass encased catwalks The glass hall serves as the main reception area for the Forum with its faade using laminated, heat-strengthened glass Laminated glass allow sunlight into the below ground lobby area, such glass was also used for walkways and bridges giving them the appearance of flying across space A ramp along the length of the glass hall, leading to the top of the building, is intersected by a number of bridges that, connect spaces, and work as horizontal struts to resist the wind pressure on the walls of the glass hall Semicircular steel girders are suspended from ceiling which mimics the frame of a ship 2 columns support roof structure

Jean Nouvel, Galeries Lafayette, Berlin 1991.

Nouvel is well known for his slick-sensuous glass surfaces Here, he combined his familiar explorations of transparent and translucent surfaces with attempts to interpret the historic department store building type Nouvels interpretation of the department store building type replaces the famous atrium of the Paris Galeries with a number of glass cone-shaped volumes The main cone rises several stories upwards from street level to the top of the building A 2nd, smaller, inverted cone drops from street level past 2 shopping levels and 2 parking levels underground The transparent cones are interesting as sculptural objects, but do little to make a better department store

Deconstruction v. Deconstructivism
Deconstruction: a style of architecture that emerged during the late '70's and early '80's This sharded, angular, and fractured architecture became characteristic of the output of the avant-garde Deconstruction was founded on the literary theories of French philosopher, Jacques Derrida, who himself was fairly sure that his work could not be applied to architecture The DeCon movement stems from discussions between Derrida and architect, Peter Eisenman, in which they question the utility of commonly accepted notions of structure alone in being able to define and communicate a meaning or truth about a creator's intended definition (a definition of space in architecture, for example), and counter poses our preconceived notions of structure with its undoing; the deconstruction of that very same preconception of space and structure It is in this criticism or deconstruction of a structure, that architecture finds its justification or its "place of presence" DeCon is often referred to as post-structuralist in nature for its ability to go beyond current modalities of structural definition In architecture, its application tends to depart from modernism in its inherent criticism of culturally inherited givens such as societal goals and functional necessity DeCon structures are not required to reflect specific social or universal ideas, such as speed or universality of form, and they do not reflect a belief that form follows function Buildings in the Deconstructivist design convey a sense of movement and change asserting their status as forms designed and fabricated over time making it temporal as it loosely derives from Deconstruction

Coop Himmelblau, rooftop office, Vienna, 1983-8. The Viennese deconstructionist architects Wolf Prix and Himmelblau, made their reputation on blind, gestural sketches that, sometimes, became buildings The sketch influenced a view of the structure from the building across the street; a view from below is virtually impossible, merely a few pieces of structure peek over the existing parapet Results as a radical crash of framework draping over edge of older building A 4,306 sq ft of roof space converted into an office, the main element being a central conference room Two gallerieslike balconiesone facing in, the other out, and separated by a glass wall and glass doorexemplify the concept of interplay between interior and exterior A flight of stairs leads from the foyer up to the roof a garden, and gives access to the conference room

"You can judge just how bad the '70's were by looking at the period's super-tense architecture. Opinion polls and a complacent democracy live behind Biedermeier facades. But we don't want to build Biedermeier. Not now, and at no other time. We are tired of seeing Palladio and other historical masks, because we don't want architecture to exclude everything that is disquieting. We want architecture to have more; we want architecture that bleeds, that exhausts, that revolves, and even breaks; architecture that burns, that stings, that rips, that tears under stress. Architecture should be cavernous, fiery, smooth, hard, angular, alluring, repelling, wet, dry, throbbing. Alive or dead. Cold: then cold as a block of ice. Hot: then hot as a blazing wing."

Zaha Hadid, Peak Project, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China, Exterior perspective, 1991, Synthetic polymer on paper mounted on canvas. A design for, the Peak, a country club in Hong Kong The above belongs to series of paintings depicting a cluster of splintered horizontal forms thrusting out from the edge of a mountain as if they were about to shoot into space To create a bird's-eye perspective, Iraqi architect, Zaha Hadid began by sketching 100s of abstract buildings in ink, then transferred them onto paper mounted on canvas Each of the surfaces was then painted in a different color Any experienced draftsman will recognize the years of practice and repetition it takes to work at this level of precision The inking alone, and the steadiness of hand it requires, takes years of training: skills that have been virtually lost in the age of the computer This is part of what distinguishes Hadid's work from the synthetic imagery churned out by computer software The Peak project also reflects how quickly Hadid matured in just a few years: Hadid's are packed with energy, and they were meant to exist in the real world The Peak's jagged, cantilevered structures are based on basic engineering principles, those common to freeways, for example to subtly ties them into the city's infrastructure

Peter Eisenman, Wexner Center for the Visual and Performing Arts, Ohio State University, Columbus

The Wexner Center was the 2nd major public building designed by Eisenman To reflect the history of the site, the building incorporated large brick tower structures inspired by the Armory building, a castle-like structure that had burnt down on the location in 1958 The design also includes a large white metal grid meant to suggest scaffolding, to give the building a sense of incompleteness in tune with the architect's Deconstructivist tastes Eisenman also took note of the mismatched street grids of the OSU campus and the city of Columbus, and designed the Wexner Center to alternate which grids it followed The result was a building of sometimes questionable functionality, but admitted architectural interest

Bernard Tschumi, Plan, Parc de la Villette, 1982-91, Paris. Focused on contemporary society's disjunction between use, form and social values, rendering any relationship between the three to be both impossible and obsolete His thoughts on disjunction led to the design which has been associated with Derrida's philosophy of Deconstruction The Parc consists of 35 red follies, sport and recreation areas, playgrounds, a science and technology museum, and a music center

Architecture only survives where it negates the form that society expects of it. Where it negates itself by transgressing the limits that history has set for it...Derrida...asked me why architects should be interested in his work, since, he observed, deconstruction is anti-form, anti-hierarchy, anti-structure-the opposite of all that architecture stands for Precisely for this reason, was my response. -Bernard Tschumi

Frank Gehry, Architects House, Santa Monica, CA, 1977-8.

Shows the warped forms of Gehry's Deconstructivist re-working of a conventional suburban house in Santa Monica His residence is a commonly cited example of deconstructivist architecture as it was so drastically divorced from its original context, and in such a manner, as to subvert its original spatial intention An existing 2 story gambrel-roofed clapboard residence had much of its interior removed and it was then expanded by wrapping the old house with a metal slipcover creating a new set of spaces around its perimeter The palette is anti-high-tech in preference for a visual presence that is off-the-shelf and ordinary 'cheap tech' Gehry considers buildings as sculpture with the freedom from restraint that this might imply, and in effect, he lifted back the skin to reveal the building as layers, with new forms breaking out and tilting away from the original

Gehry, Conde Nast Cafeteria, NY, 1996-2000.

A 260 seat cafeteria, includes a main dining area, a servery, and 4 private dining rooms The main dining area is organized to provide a variety of seating arrangements in an atmosphere that is both intimate and open Custom designed booths that accommodate 4-6 people each are distributed along the walls The perimeter walls are clad in blue titanium panels that include an acoustic backing to insure acoustic absorption, undulate in response to the geometry and overall configuration of the booths Additional booths are located on a raised seating platform which is enclosed within curved glass panels in the center of the main dining area The servery, is a fully equipped facility that provides a selection of different hot and cold entrees The servery's curvilinear angel hair finish stainless steel counter tops, blue titanium walls and canopies, and ash veneer floor and ceiling

Gehry, Guggenheim Interior, Bilbao, Spain

Base is of Spanish limestone with the panels above of titanium like hammered metal, and the entrance a hard reflective glass Walls and roof define space creating a fluid and dramatic interior The structure consists of radically sculpted, organic contours The curves on the building have been designed to appear random The architect has been quoted saying that "the randomness of the curves are designed to catch the light" Sited as it is in a port town, the design is intended to resemble a ship Its brilliantly reflective titanium panels resemble fish scales, echoing the other organic life (and, in particular, fish-like) forms that recur commonly in Gehry's designs

Catia, a computer program initially used by the French aerospace industry served as a working model to digital map the museum so that materials and construction plans could be finite before they were started The building is uniquely a product of the period's technology as computer-aided design (CATIA) and visualizations were used heavily in the structure's design Computer simulations of the building's structure made it feasible to build shapes that architects of earlier eras would have found nearly impossible to construct

Fox & Fowle, Four Times Square, NY, 1999. Created standards for energy conservation, indoor air quality, recycling systems, and sustainable manufacturing processes The interior focuses on biodegradable, renewable, nontoxic materials Four Times Square is one of the most important examples of green design in skyscrapers in the U.S. Environmentally friendly gas-fired absorption chillers, along with a high-performing insulating and shading curtain wall, ensure that the building does not need to be heated or cooled for the majority of the year Office furniture is made with biodegradable and non-toxic materials The air-delivery system provides 50% more fresh air than is required by NYC Building Code, and a number of recycling chutes serve the entire building NASDAQ's MarketSite is located at the nw corner of the building Its a 7 story cylindrical tower with electronic display, providing market quotes, financial news and ads

James Stewart Polshek and Todd H. Schliemann, Rose Planetarium (in the American Museum of Natural History) NY, 2000.

An 87 ft steel sphere capable of holding 585 people, apparently floating on air in the center of a giant glass cube, neither suspended from its top pole nor supported at its bottom Although the sphere appears to float, it actually rises from a tripod of steel legs They support a circular truss on which the upper hemisphere rests and from which the lower hemisphere is suspended In the upper hemisphere will be the 432seat Space Theater, where a Zeiss star projector and a Zeiss video projector will cast images of the night sky on a dome overhead In the lower half will be the Big Bang Theater, where up to 150 viewers will stand on a circular platform to see the first moments of the formation of the universe on a curved screen below them The theaters are reached by a 320 ft spiral ramp that wraps around one and a half times, constantly changing in height and radius

Fumihoko Maki, Fujisawa Municipal Gym, Tokyo, 1984-90. With an obsessive interest in new technology and rational design, Maki uses modular systems in planning and standardized building components in construction His favorite materials are metal, glass, and poured concrete Despite his keen interest in theory and technology, Maki is a populist, and his buildings display a warmth and sense of excitement that is rarely found in contemporary architecture Maki's designs exhibit carefully manipulated shapes and textures that humanize their total effect displaying a constant concern with contextual response The Gym has a sci-fi quality: one section of the building resembles some enormous otherworldly blimp, the other calls to mind a high-tech samurai helmet Maki's gym is restrained and sober, a mature fantasy with a parabolic stainless-steel skin 1.6 acres in size, but just about 1/60 of an inch thick

Christian de Portzamparc, LVMH Building, NY, 1999-2000. The towers created by Christian de Portzamparc have, since the beginning, been a result of his studies of the vertical and sculptural dimension, concentrating on the prismatic form Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy, a 24 story, 328 ft tall American flagship towerpart boutique, part office headquarters The LVMH looks like an entire skyline in miniature The tricky folds and slices of its glass curtain wall provide an illusion of much greater height, so that it vies with older skyscraper neighbors like the Fuller Building across Lexington Ave.

Tadao Ando, ChikatsuAsuka Historical Museum, MinamiKawachi, Japan, 1990-4. Chikatsu-Asuka, an area in the southern part of Osaka Prefecture, has one of the best collections of tumuli (kofun) in Japan There are over 200 mounds including 4 imperial tombs, the site of the tomb of Prince Shotoku and the tomb of Ono-no-Imoko It was an important place at the start of Japanese history The building is intended as a center for exhibiting and studying the culture of the Age of Tumuli, and my proposal was to create an environmental museum that incorporates not only the Tumuli scattered around the site but the natural environment of the burial mounds. Tadao Ando The building has been conceived as a hill from which one can see the entire excavated area The stone-paved roof is shaped like an enormous stairway which may be transformed into a stage, outdoor lecture hall or simply a wide viewing platform Inside, visitors have the experience of plunging into a tomb to experience the past

Rafael Moneo, Museum of Roman Art, site plan, basement plan, isometric, Merida, Spain, 1980-6. Moneo draws on an incredible reservoir of concepts and ideas, which he filters through the specifics of the site, the purpose, the form, the climate, and other circumstances of the project As a result, each of his buildings is unique, but at the same time, uniquely recognizable as being from his palette Without falling into a strict imitation of Roman architecture, Moneo adopted the Roman construction system - massive masonry-bearing walls filled with concrete Other Roman building techniques, materials, and proportions were utilized as well, and prominence was given to construction as an expression of architecture itself The materiality of the Roman brick wall becomes, finally, the most important feature in the architecture of the museum

Museum of Roman Art, interior, view of nave, Merida, Spain, 1980-6.

The main exhibition hall is traversed by a series of parallel walls that have been opened with towering arches The perspective view through the arches reveals the scale of the building and expresses the continuity of the space therein These walls also define lateral bays for the display of some of the most valuable pieces in the museum's collection The walls function as partitions, on which are hung cornices, capitals, mosaics, and fragments of statuary These surfaces are not considered to be mere neutral supports for the objects; rather, the translucent white marble of the relics may be seen in a dialectical interplay with the material presence of the brick walls Natural light, another fundamental concern in the museum's design, enters through skylights above and windows set high in the facades The constantly changing intensity and color of the light contributes to the dialogue between the works of art and the building itself

Gae Aulenti, Musee dOrsay, interior after remodeling, Paris, 1986. The interior design of the museum was conceived by a team of scenographers and architects directed by Gae Aulenti Aulenti succeeded in creating a unified presentation within a large diversity of volumes, in particular by using a homogeneous stone covering for the floors and walls This installation brings the large space of the former station down to size The central space is 450ft long beneath a 103ft barrel vault of glass and iron Gallery spaces flow off from this central promenade Ramps and catwalks connect the various spaces and levels of the exhibit areas

Daniel Libeskind, Jewish Museum, plans and exterior, Berlin, 1989-98.

The design is based on a rather involved process of connecting lines between locations of historic events and locations of Jewish culture in Berlin These lines form a basic outline and structure for the building Libeskind also has used the concepts of absence, emptiness, and the invisible expressions of the disappearance of Jewish culture in the cityto design the building

Libeskind, Jewish Museum, interior, main stairway, detail of exterior, Berlin, 1989-98. These concepts of absence, emptiness, and the invisible take form in a kinked and angled sequence throughout the building, orchestrated to allow the visitor to see (but not to enter) certain empty rooms, which Libeskind terms voided voids The ideas which generate the plan of the building repeat themselves on the surface of the building, where voids, windows, and perforations form a sort of cosmological composition on an otherwise undifferentiated, zig-zagging zinc surface

Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk and Andres Duany, Seaside, FL

Pedestrian oriented planned community with a goal not only to create an oldfashioned beach town in the FLPanhandle, but to create a social atmosphere that people enjoyed being in, and that is indubitably the creation of the Davis', Duany, and Plater-Zyberk Every house in Seaside is colorful and different, ranging from styles such as Victorian, Neoclassical, Modern, Postmodern and Deconstructivism Seaside is over 50,000 square ft The community is often cited as the first New Urbanist development At the time of Seaside's construction, Walton County had no zoning ordinance, leaving Seaside's founders able to plan with a comparatively free hand In the absence of these regulations (e.g., minimum lot size, separation of uses), Duany and Plater-Zyberk (DPZ) were able to design a mixed-use development with densities greater than conventional suburban development