Urban Drift (Twelve Buildings on Three Cities)

Author: Ruan Qingyue
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: Seattle SEATTLE Rock Music Museum / Frank Gehry Gehry bravely dared to break free from the long-standing restrictions of steel and glass, which were like an golden ring, on technology and aesthetics, allowing modern architecture to liberate itself from almost immovable contemporary aesthetic constraints. He indeed opened a wide window for architectural aesthetic thinking, which is truly commendable. As for the clumsiness, irrationality, and expense revealed by construction technology in forming architectural aesthetics, is it a question and responsibility that architects should think about and take responsibility for? Or is it simply the fault of construction methods and new materials, technological inventors falling behind the times, and is it completely unrelated to designers? Bilbao Museum / Steven Holl Holl might be one of the few architects in modern architectural history who makes the best use of natural light. He calls the richness of sunlight like an orchestra with abundant layers, and we should make good use of it and reveal the beauty of space through it. However, unlike another architect who also makes good use of sunlight, Louis Kahn, who mostly used the strong contrast between the deep shadows and bright light of sunlight to reveal the sublime, almost religious personality of space, Holl often uses the effects of direct sunlight, refraction, and reflection of light surfaces in space (rather than shadows) to state his capture of the poetic ambiguity of space, and often reveals a more human-like, quasi-religious character compared to it. New York NEWYORK "Commedes Gar?ons" / Kansai Yamamoto Yamamoto is very clear that she is not designing clothes for everyone, but for those who dare to walk at the forefront of the times like her. Maintaining her position at the forefront of the wave is the source of motivation and challenge in her work. This spirit (which is also close to rebellious self-destruction) is often seen in her works. For example, in the 1970s, she boldly chose the then forbidden color "black" as the main color. At a launch event called "Redis Black," she used the feeling of "fear" from the Bible as the main theme, showcasing her views on the beauty of clothing through seven different blacks, while also challenging the extremes of taboos. Lehman Ink Gallery / Rem Koolhaas Koolhaas is essentially a loud new voice in modern architecture of the 20th century, who faces the real social situation with an honest and fearless attitude. The modernists before him seemed a bit aloof and detached when facing reality, as if they had a clean and untainted attitude towards the mortal world. While the postmodernists who followed, although they decided to dance with reality in response, chose a painless and insipid method of packaging goods with historical sugar, making it difficult to distinguish whether they were selling smiles or selling themselves, and naturally, it was difficult to give them any sincere respect. Koolhaas's non-rejection and non-attachment to the real environment, and even his bold attitude to participate in its transformation, make him have a posture different from his predecessors. Taking his commercial form under the capitalist structure as an example, although he may not agree with this value system, he also maintains a bold attitude to try. Columbia University Student Activity Center / Zaha Hadid This design project within the Columbia University campus has always been highly anticipated and watched from the beginning, partly because the site is Columbia University, a major educational hub in the United States, and also because the architectural community has been waiting with curious eyes for Zaha Hadid to present another representative architectural work. Under such pressure, he seems to have been somewhat at a loss, even showing some lack of excessive rationality and the charming, poetic, and enchanting appeal of sensibility. Robie House / Frank Lloyd Wright The architectural form and style of Wright, although the focus of much discussion and praise, actually have a far greater influence on successors in the 20th century than other European modernist masters. Wright's true value may lie in the humble character of his architecture. He truly shows how an architect can use familiar and vibrant materials, reflect the reality and the possibility of beauty in this reality under the needs of functionality, and maintain a persistent attitude towards the harmonious relationship between the individual and the natural universe in it. In Wright's philosophy, he early advocated giving everyone enough land, air, and sunlight, so that people's value could be re-established through their interaction with nature, so that people would not become meaningless symbols in the city.