Mies who started in the Bauhaus in Germany then practiced in Chicago for many years would have turned 132 today. His work is still relevant today. The influence Villa Tugendhat in Brno, in modern Czech Republic can be seen in … Continue reading
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Born in Finland, he grew up in Michigan Michigan where his father was dean at Cranbrook Academy of Art. His sculptural forms recalled the work of Le Corbusier and took it to new levels. His work certainly still inspires current … Continue reading
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Today Richard Neutra would have been 125. He was born in Vienna Austria. He studied under Adolf Loos at the Vienna University of Technology. After serving in World War I and working for a short while in Germany he moved to … Continue reading
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He was born Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni in 1475. A painter, sculptor and architect was the true personification of the Renaissance man. He worked on a number of architectural projects. His design for the Capitoline Hill with with trapezoidal … Continue reading
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Here are some photos I took of Foster’s new dome for the Reichstag in Berlin.
Today is I M Pei’s 99th birthday. Here is one of his best known buildings the pyramid at the Louvre.
This is the father of modernism Mies Van Der Rohe’s 130 birthday. Here is the Farnsworth home built in 1945 about an hour outside of Chicago in Plano, IL. It is a iconic piece of American residential architecture. He raised the house to catch views of the Fox River. Due the fact it is so close to the river it has been flooded a couple of times. Studies are underway to create an unobtrusive way to lift it when a flood occurs.
Front or River view of the house
Entry showing floating front porch
First view of the Farnsworth House approaching from the visitor’s center.
Ledoux explored visionary architecture based on simple geometry. Below is one of his famous series of buildings The Royal Saltworks of Arc-Et-Senans, this illustrates how over 250 years ago he created radical work based on marrying rationality and aestheticism. It has a radius of 185 meters which has five buildings comprising the arc and five others the diameter. Nine paths cross and converge on the director’s house in the middle.
Andrea Palladio whose 16th century homes were built as country houses for the wealthy Venetians are still being used as homes was born today 507 years ago. His symmetrical floor plans and classical detailing are still being used in residential architecture.
Here are some photos of his Villa Emo near Treviso Italy that I had the pleasure of visiting this past June.
Today is Modernist architect Richard Meier’s 81st birthday. He uses porcelain white panels on the exterior or almost all of his buildings or uses white stone on others.
Here is some images of his Douglas house. Its dramatically situated in Harbor Springs Michigan on an isolated lot sloping down to Lake Michigan.
