For this week’s trip, we visited several buildings that displayed and what also started the language of modernism in office buildings. Some of these buildings include the Lever House, Seagram Building, Lipstick Building, and the United Nations. All these buildings expressed themselves in different ways through massing, materials, and relationship to the ground plane.

Most of these buildings were similar in massing and the relationship they had with the public and its ground plane. They varied in shape but were similar in geometry. They were either square or rectangular. All the buildings except the UN had a much more inviting and even monumental atmosphere. This was done by recessed entrances, so when you walk to it, you end up under the main massing of building cantilevering over you, that is being supported by free-standing columns. These are great examples of one of the five points of architecture established by Le Corbusier, Pilotis. In addition to this pulling factor of the buildings, specifically the Lever house and the Seagram Building, they both had privately owned public spaces, allowing the public to stop and rest with the seats provided. This was great features that added to their designs and helped them stand out from all the other surrounding buildings. The Lipstick Building, on the other hand, with the same Pilotis stragtegy but at a smaller scale, had a different approach which made it stand out. This was done by an elliptical massing, unlike the other buildings with rectangular and squared masses, the Lipstick’s circular mass gave the buildings a delicate and gentle feel to its façade all around.

Two great examples to compare materials are the Lever House and the Seagram Building. both are very minimalist buildings, but the language of materials being used for the face of the buildings are ornamental. The Lever House used two different tones of glass, one acted as the vision and the other as a spandrel. What stands about the Lever House is its green color. Many buildings around it mimicked this color scheme but not as good as the Lever House. Another material used on the Lever House is, I believe, the aluminum structural beams running vertically along the facade, creating a visible grid. The Seagram Building also uses beams but aesthetic purposes. The glass and steel colors are unique. For its glass, amber tinted glass panes were used which gave a subtle and calming vibe when looking inside the building. The steel being used was colored black.