Category: Uncategorized (Page 4 of 8)

How do civic centers like Lincoln Center relate to the city around them? Describe

the nature of the public plaza in this civic center.

The Lincoln Center is a postmodern architecture similar to classic style with a unique composition and urban space where the structure design is the main design of the building supporting a window wall. The Lincoln Center buildings have a massive sculpture with a regular scale with a unique structure that seems to be columns supporting the building but is just one massive structure or composition. The façade of each building is facing the center of the public space which there is a fountain located at the center of the Lincoln Center. The center is an open space separated from the street with different elevation from the street. Also, this site seems to be separated from the city where the streets are marking a separation between the city and the Lincoln Center. When you are at this place is quite you can only hear the noise of the water and cars passing through the street and for a moment you just disconnect from the city noise to just this particular site. At this site, planning was useful in an approach of urban planning making this site to be successful in the way the space was used. Each proportion and space have a meaning and purpose because of the way it was designed.

For example, the nature of the public space gives people a different experience at the site where people can enjoy and relax at this place. The design and details that are on this site like a fountain, trees, curved stairs, pool, art figures and building facing each other or facing at the center of the public space define the circulation of the site.

 Compare the evolution of the exterior skin of these modern office/institutional

buildings. Compare their massing strategies.

With the end of World War two a new era began and a new beginning of modern architecture, architects start to define a new architectural image of the city by creating and reimagining buildings through massing, materials and exterior skin of the building and relationship to the ground. The Lever House, Seagram Building, Citicorp, lipstick building, ford foundation, and United Nations building are examples of modern architecture. Nowadays, we can see this building as an inspiration for architecture that at the time start a new beginning for architecture.

The Seagram building and lever House are similar in terms of shape and design in which both are great examples of the evolution of material and skin treatment, for example, the Seagram building structure has this unique glass material covering the entire building with columns on the outside and inside of the building. The ground floor is where the structure of the building is visible, we can see the use of glass and steel. The entrance is the main attraction as you enter the building you can see this big column which seems to be placed at the middle of the building acting as a support of the building. The Lever House building structure is also visible from the first floor to the beginning of the second floor in which after that is covered with this massive curtain wall made of glass and steel. From the outside at the front facing the Seagram building, this building seems to be floating in space which is an amazing view to look. Also, this building brings nature at the roof of the second floor filled with trees giving a unique experience at the building which is similar to the Ford Foundation building which has nature on the inside of the building supported by these massive beams and massive columns.

The Citicorp Center building and the lipstick building are also modern buildings that not only show an evolution of material and skin treatment but shape and color. For example, the Citicorp building has this unique curve shape and massive columns supporting the entire building elevating the building at a high elevation to the floor. On the other hand, the lipstick building is a circular building with circular columns at the entrance of the building with three compositions above one another.

The united nations building is a glass tower and one of the modern buildings that is not above the ground floor but is connected to the ground floor which was built to represent peace.  Modern architecture brings new ways of construction by integrating new ways of design and new materials that not only change the ways buildings were built but a new way of light pass through the buildings.

How do the Chrysler and Empire compare? Describe the massing, materials, and

detailing of each?

Tall buildings had been amazed by people through decades with their massive structure and high elevation from the ground because they mostly were impossible to build. In the 1900s two of the great high-rise buildings were developed marking a new era of skyscrapers the Chrysler building and the Empire State Building, the first of their kind in which at the time were named as the tallest buildings in the world. Both buildings are examples of the Art Deco style in which were built to represent the power and status of the emerging automobile industry.

The Chrysler building structure is one of the tallest buildings in the world with a skeleton frame with an incredible roof design with arches and triangular windows and an antenna at the top of the roof making it look like a glass crown floating on the air at night. The building mass is full of brick, stone, glass and masonry details giving a unique image to the building which in my opinion makes the building stand up again others. How the building is built is interesting because at the bottom is wider and as the building is getting higher the building structure is thinner, likely that each story is on top of Each other to hold the high of the building structure.

The Empire State building was built after the Chrysler building surpassing it’s high and named the world tallest building until the construction of the World Trade Center building. The building count with a unique curtain wall, masonry details, and a structural steel frame. The roof has an antenna but it’s different from the Chrysler building because it doesn’t have arcs or triangular windows but it also looks like the roof is floating at night because the roof is the most illuminated part of the building.

The Chrysler Building and the Empire State building are masterpieces of architecture which started a new generation of classic skylines.  their massing is unique in which are examples of great use of materials and exceptional masonry details.

The day I visited the Lincoln center, I observed how this place was related to the city by many factors like the architecture. furthermore, the cultural landmark imitates some spaces like the city. Also, the Lincoln center was built with paths that connected to the street roads.

The Lincoln center architecture is very aesthetic. The center has a beautiful water fountain that occupied a small portion of the center. People have the access to different views of the city skyscrapers.  The   first buildings built in the plaza like the New York Philharmonic building and the New York City Ballet building are made of travertine stone just as the main building which is the Metropolitan Opera House. The exterior design facade is very unique on each of them. A very cool predominant features these buildings share in common are the long structure columns that support each cantilever roof.  These three buildings perform arts like opera, ballet dancing and function as theater. The other buildings like the Vivian Beaumont theater, the Juilliard School   and Alice Tully hall are slightly different the architecture is more modern and buildings functions. The Lincoln center is up for any type of public.

The center has park and other places for the public to enjoy during a good weather. I felt the connection of the Lincoln center with others civic centers by seeing how the developers think commonly about how the visitors needs will be and the facilities that it should provide them. For instance, I believe a successful center should provide people areas to hang out, gather and rest.

From the National Museum of the American Indian you can see a clear path of how the city was designed; a straight line of view that follows Broadway. The buildings seem like they stand back to show this view, and creating this perfect square – or, rather triangle- that is a great gathering space for the people. Being that this important structure stood as the Customs House decades ago, it stands at a prime location that was easily accessed from the ships that docked lower Manhattan. This path from the water to the house would eventually become the official road that exists today. Over the years, these landmarks stood as a pin in the master plan of Manhattan, forcing everything around them to adapt to them. Roads that weren’t there before are created, and forced to terminate at the lot of the landmarks. Trinity church, for example, is crowded by more modern and taller buildings that were obviously not there at the time of design; but thanks to the street layout, the church is framed by these two buildings, a street guiding you perfectly to it. Although it is physically dark, made of brown stone, it seems like a much more holy place with its, and the streets, placement.
Finally, the Brooklyn Bridge also had a line of sight that is followed by a street, and not to mention it has an amazing view from atop it. The fact that the way they tested it was by walking elephants across it is a fun fact that will always be stuck in my head.

The exterior skin of the modern office/institutional buildings we visited has improved to support the buildings quality structurally and aesthetically. The Lever House, the Seagram Building, the Citi Corp, the Lipstick Building , the Ford Foundation and the United Nations relates each other by some features that made these buildings to be the perfect buildings for their functions.

During  the trip, I noticed that besides the fact this  buildings are designed  to serve as private  office/institutional building, it provides  open spaces for the public and the people whom work in them  have the access to space where they can relax and hang out after work. The open places are surrounded by vegetation and sitting areas.

we visited the lever house designed by Gordon Bun shaft is one of the office buildings which was very influential to other architects in the neighborhood. Like, the very famous architect Mies Van who built the Seagram Building which is located across the Lever House. The Seagram Building façade is curtain wall with a yellow visible glass and black stainless mullions; the spandrel glass is dark solid black. In relation to the Lever House which curtain wall has transparent light green glass, stainless silver mullions and dark green spandrel glass that covers the floor and ceiling structure. The ground floor is an open space plaza with a garden open to the public. The Seagram Building, the Ford Foundation and the lipstick building have open spaces similar to the Lever House that provides people an unique place to gather in public. Furthermore, The Seagram Building and the Lipstick Building also connects to the Lever House since the architects of both buildings adopted the idea of having columns lifting their buildings just like Bunshaft did for the lever house by being inspired by Le Corbusier’s idea. The massing of the Seagram Building was similar to the Lever House, the UN Building and the ford foundation that were rectilinear. In contrast to the Lipstick Building that has a circular massing.

Even though each offices and institutional buildings were built in different years, they connect each other by performing similar structure functions and similar features.

The Frick museum and the Guggenheim museum are very distinguished by the unique way that each museum has their art works displaced however, these museums provides people pure education of certain important historical events and cultures. Both museums have their own identity that characterizes them as two well-known museums of New York.

The Frick museum was originated in a very organic way. Henrick Frick was a very entrepreneur industrial businessman who turned his mansion into a museum by collecting artwork during his trajectory.  The way how the painting and sculpture are arranged in this museum is mostly like in a home decorative style.  I believe Frick strategy to organize his art collections in his mansion was to make every room of his mansion to stand out with the masterpieces he places in each space. The movement through the museum galleries is simple, the center is where the most circulation happens. The masterpieces are located by the walls of the rooms.

On the other hand, the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the Guggenheim museum based on a more planned idea about a specific museum. The art paintings are neatly aligned in the walls. The sculptures are randomly placed in the museum. The circulation goes in a spiral motion pace movement where the spaces gets from the smallest to the biggest starting from the bottom to the top. The Guggenheim museum in relationship with the Frick museum has a skylight that allows natural light into the museum.

The Guggenheim museum is more modernist than the Frick museum which is more traditional and older conservative museum. However, they are both very historical.