New Urban I sm

Theory of Architecture 2

"Giving people many choices for living an urban lifestyle in sustainable, streetcar suburbs. The later invention of the automobile further increased
convenient and enjoyable places" this decentralization from the central city which later led to separated land
uses and urban sprawl.
New Urbanism is a planning and development approach based on the
principles of how cities and towns had been built for the last several New Urbanism is a reaction to the spreading out of cities. The ideas
centuries: walkable blocks and streets, housing and shopping in close then began to spread in the late 1970s and early 1980s, as urban planners
proximity, and accessible public spaces. In other words: New Urbanism and architects started to come up with plans to model cities in the U.S. after
focuses on human-scaled urban design. those in Europe.
Furthermore, it promotes the creation and restoration of diverse, In 1991, New Urbanism developed more strongly when the Local
walkable, compact, vibrant, mixed-use communities composed of the same Government Commission, a nonprofit group in Sacramento, California,
components as conventional development, but assembled in a more invited several architects, including Peter Calthorpe, Michael Corbett, Andres
integrated fashion, in the form of complete communities. These contain Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk among others, to Yosemite National Park
housing, work places, shops, entertainment, schools, parks, and civic facilities to develop a set of principles for land use planning that focused on the
essential to the daily lives of the residents, all within easy walking distance of community and its livability.
each other. New Urbanism promotes the increased use of trains and light
The principles, named after Yosemite's Ahwahnee Hotel where the
rail, instead of more highways and roads. Urban living is rapidly becoming
conference was held, are called the Ahwahnee Principles. Within these, there
the new hip and modern way to live for people of all ages. Currently, there
are 15 community principles, four regional principles and four principles for
are over 4,000 New Urbanist projects planned or under construction in the
implementation. Each one however, deals both past and present ideas to
United States alone, half of which are in historic urban centers.
make cities as clean, walkable and livable as possible. These principles were
History of New Urbanism then presented to government officials in late 1991 at the Yosemite
Conference for Local Elected Officials.
In the beginning of the 19th century, development of American cities
often took a compact, mixed-use form, reminiscent of that found in places Shortly thereafter, some of the architects involved in creating the
like old town Alexandria, Virginia. With the development of the streetcar and Ahwahnee Principles formed the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) in
affordable rapid transit however, cities began to spread out and create 1993. Today, CNU is the leading promoter of New Urbanist ideas and has
grown to over 3,000 members. It also holds conferences yearly in cities  High quality pedestrian network and public realm makes walking
across the U.S. to further promote New Urbanism design principles. pleasurable
The principles, articulated in the Charter of the New Urbanism, were 3. Mixed-Use & Diversity
developed to offer alternatives to the sprawling, single-use, low-density
 A mix of shops, offices, apartments, and homes on site. Mixed-use
patterns typical of post-WWII development, which have been shown to inflict
within neighborhoods, within blocks, and within buildings
negative economic, health, and environmental impacts on communities.
 Diversity of people—of ages, income levels, cultures, and races
These design and development principles can be applied to new
4. Mixed Housing
development, urban infill and revitalization, and preservation. They can be
applied to all scales of development in the full range of places including rural  A range of types, sizes and prices in closer proximity
Main Streets, booming suburban areas, urban neighborhoods, dense city
centers, and even entire regions. 5. Quality Architecture & Urban Design

The Principles Of New Urbanism  Emphasis on beauty, aesthetics, human comfort, and creating a sense
of place; Special placement of civic uses and sites within community.
The principles of New Urbanism can be applied increasingly to projects at the Human scale architecture & beautiful surroundings nourish the
full range of scales from a single building to an entire community. human spirit
1. Walkability 6. Traditional Neighborhood Structure
 Most things within a 10-minute walk of home and work  Discernable center and edge
 Pedestrian friendly street design (buildings close to street; porches,  Public space at center
windows & doors; tree-lined streets; on street parking; hidden  Importance of quality public realm; public open space designed as
parking lots; garages in rear lane; narrow, slow speed streets) civic art
 Pedestrian streets free of cars in special cases  Contains a range of uses and densities within 10-minute walk
 Transect planning: Highest densities at town center; progressively less
dense towards the edge. The transect is an analytical system that
2. Connectivity conceptualizes mutually reinforcing elements, creating a series of
 Interconnected street grid network disperses traffic & eases walking specific natural habitats and/or urban lifestyle settings. The Transect
 A hierarchy of narrow streets, boulevards, and alleys integrates environmental methodology for habitat assessment with
zoning methodology for community design. The professional
 boundary between the natural and man-made disappears, enabling  Minimal environmental impact of development and its operations
environmentalists to assess the design of the human habitat and the  Eco-friendly technologies, respect for ecology and value of natural
urbanists to support the viability of nature. This urban-to-rural systems
transect hierarchy has appropriate building and street types for each  Energy efficiency
area along the continuum.  Less use of finite fuels
 More local production
 More walking, less driving
10. Quality of Life

 Taken together these add up to a high quality of life well worth living,
and create places that enrich, uplift, and inspire the human spirit.
Benefits Of New Urbanism
1. Benefits to Residents
7. Increased Density
Higher quality of life; Better places to live, work, & play; Higher, more
 More buildings, residences, shops, and services closer together for stable property values; Less traffic congestion & less driving; Healthier
ease of walking, to enable a more efficient use of services and lifestyle with more walking, and less stress; Close proximity to main street
resources, and to create a more convenient, enjoyable place to live. retail & services; Close proximity to bike trails, parks, and nature; Pedestrian
 New Urbanism design principles are applied at the full range of friendly communities offer more opportunities to get to know others in the
densities from small towns, to large cities neighborhood and town, resulting in meaningful relationships with more
people, and a friendlier town; More freedom and independence to children,
8. Smart Transportation
elderly, and the poor in being able to get to jobs, recreation, and services
 A network of high-quality trains connecting cities, towns, and without the need for a car or someone to drive them; Great savings to
neighborhoods together residents and school boards in reduced busing costs from children being able
 Pedestrian-friendly design that encourages a greater use of bicycles, to walk or bicycle to neighborhood schools; More diversity and smaller,
rollerblades, scooters, and walking as daily transportation unique shops and services with local owners who are involved in community;
Big savings by driving less, and owning less cars; Less ugly, congested sprawl
9. Sustainability
to deal with daily; Better sense of place and community identity with more
unique architecture; More open space to enjoy that will remain open space; public and less resistance from NIMBYS; Faster sell out due to greater
More efficient use of tax money with less spent on spread out utilities and acceptance by consumers from a wider product range resulting in wider
roads market share

2. Benefits to Businesses 4. Benefits to Municipalities

Increased sales due to more foot traffic & people spending less on Stable, appreciating tax base; Less spent per capita on infrastructure
cars and gas; More profits due to spending less on advertising and large and utilities than typical suburban development due to compact, high-
signs; Better lifestyle by living above shop in live-work units - saves the density nature of projects; Increased tax base due to more buildings packed
stressful & costly commute; Economies of scale in marketing due to close into a tighter area; Less traffic congestion due to walkability of design; Less
proximity and cooperation with other local businesses; Smaller spaces crime and less spent on policing due to the presence of more people day and
promote small local business incubation; Lower rents due to smaller spaces night; Less resistance from community; Better overall community image and
& smaller parking lots; Healthier lifestyle due to more walking and being near sense of place; Less incentive to sprawl when urban core area is desirable;
healthier restaurants; More community involvement from being part of Easy to install transit where it's not, and improve it where it is; Greater civic
community and knowing residents involvement of population leads to better governance
Ways To Implement New Urbanism
3. Benefits to Developers The most effective way to implement New Urbanism is to plan for it,
and write it into zoning and development codes. This directs all future
More income potential from higher density mixed-use projects due to
development into this form.
more leasable square footage, more sales per square foot, and higher
property values and selling prices; Faster approvals in communities that have New Urbanism is best planned at all levels of development:
adopted smart growth principles resulting in cost / time savings; Cost savings
 The single building
in parking facilities in mixed-use properties due to sharing of spaces
 Groups of buildings
throughout the day and night, resulting in less duplication in providing
 The urban block
parking; Less need for parking facilities due to mix of residences and
 The neighborhood
commercial uses within walking distance of each other; Less impact on
roads / traffic, which can result in lower impact fees; Lower cost of utilities  Networks of neighborhoods
due to compact nature of New Urbanist design; Greater acceptance by the  Towns
  Cities
 Regions
Seaside, Florida
Increasingly, regional planning techniques are being used to control and
shape growth into compact, high-density, mixed-use neighborhoods, villages,
towns, and cities. Planning new train systems (instead of more roads)
delivers the best results when designed in harmony with regional land
planning - known as Transit Oriented Development (TOD). At the same time,
the revitalization of urban areas directs and encourages infill development
back into city centers.
Planning for compact growth, rather than letting it sprawl out, has the
potential to greatly increase the quality of the environment. It also prevents
congestion problems and the environmental degradation normally
associated with growth.
Examples of New Urbanist Cities
Although New Urbanist design strategies have been tried in various
places across the U.S., the first fully developed New Urbanist town was
Seaside, Florida, designed by architects Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-
Zyberk.
Construction began there in 1981 and almost immediately, it became
famous for its architecture, public spaces and quality of streets.
The Stapleton neighborhood in Denver, Colorado, is another example
of New Urbanism in the U.S. It is on the site of the former Stapleton
International Airport and construction began in 2001. The neighborhood is
zoned as residential, commercial and office and will be one of the largest in
Denver. Like Seaside, it too will de-emphasize the car but it will also have
parks and open space.

Normal, Illinois
Criticisms of New Urbanism New Urbanism is pragmatic. Great design is not useful if it can't be built. New
Urbanists work with and include production builders, small developers,
Despite the popularity of New Urbanism in the recent decades, there
traffic engineers, appraisers and financial institutions, public officials, citizens
have been some criticisms of its design practices and principles. The first of
and others with influence over the built environment to come up with
these is that the density of its cities leads to a lack of privacy for residents.
implementable solutions.
Some critics claim that people want detached homes with yards so they are
further away from their neighbors. By having mixed density neighborhoods New Urbanism is focused on design, which is critical to the function of
and possibly sharing driveways and garages, this privacy is lost. communities. The size and shape of a plaza will help determine whether it is
consistently alive with people or windswept and vacant. The organization of
Critics also say that New Urbanist towns feel inauthentic and isolated
buildings in a neighborhood will help establish its character. Combining
because they do not represent the "norm" of settlement patterns in the U.S.
appropriate design elements makes places that are greater than the sum of
Many of these critics often point to Seaside as it was used to film portions of
their parts.
the film The Truman Show and as a model of Disney's community,
Celebration, Florida. New Urbanism is holistic. All scales, from the metropolitan region to
the single building, are related. A building that is connected to a transit stop
Finally, critics of New Urbanism argue that instead of promoting
will help the region function better, and well-organized region benefits the
diversity and community, New Urbanist neighborhoods only attract affluent
buildings within it. Streets that rely only on engineering tend to move
white residents as they often become very expensive places to live.
automobiles and little else; all disciplines related to the built environment
Regardless of these criticisms though, New Urbanist ideas are must work together to create great places. Also, reclaiming underutilized and
becoming a popular form of planning communities and with a growing neglected places is a special focus of New Urban design and building.
emphasis on mixed-use buildings, high density settlements and walkable
Above all, New Urbanism is about creating sustainable, human-scaled
cities, its principles will continue into the future.
places where people can live healthy and happy lives. The walkable, vibrant,
In Conclusion beautiful places that New Urbanists build work better for businesses, local
governments, and their residents. Anyone that works to create, restore, or
New Urbanists make placemaking and public space a high priority.
protect a great place can join in the New Urbanism movement.
New Urbanist streets are designed for people—rather than just cars—and
accommodate multimodal transportation including walking, bicycling, transit
use, and driving. We believe in providing plazas, squares, sidewalks, cafes,
and porches to host daily interaction and public life.
Otto Wagner that position until 1913. In his remarkable inaugural lecture, Wagner, who
1841-1918 was already in his fifties, declared himself absolutely and without reservation
in favor of a modern architecture in response to modern needs and
“Modern art must yield for us
condemned all stylistic imitation as false and inappropriate. This inaugural
modern ideas, forms created for us,
lecture, which epitomized Wagner's philosophy of architecture and design,
which represent our abilities, our
was published in the following year as a book under the title Moderne
acts, and our preferences”.
Architektur. Shortly thereafter this book was made available to the American
Life and Career public by N. Clifford Ricker, who translated it and published it first in
serialized form in 1901 in the Brickbuilder and in the following year as a
Otto Wagner was born in
book.
Vienna, Austria, on July 13, 1841. First
he attended the Technical University The functionalist message that Wagner set forth was that "Modern
there; in 1860 he attended the art must yield for us modern ideas, forms created for us, which represent our
Bauakademie in Berlin; and in 1861- abilities, our acts, and our preferences" and that "Objects resulting from
1863 he studied at the Academy of modern views … harmonize perfectly with our surroundings, but copied and
Fine Arts in Vienna. Up to 1894 imitated objects never do." Moreover, Wagner repeated verbatim the
Wagner's architectural practice was famous functionalist principle advocated by the great German architect
fully in the prevalent Neo- Gottfried Semper: "Necessity is the sole mistress of art," to which he
Renaissance and Neo-Baroque subsequently added his own emphasis on structure and materials.
modes. This can be seen in the
Wagner's outspoken, strongly rationalist functionalism was indeed
private dwelling Rennweg 3 in Vienna
more revolutionary than his architecture. In 1894 he was commissioned to
from 1889, a Baroque, palacelike
design the stations of the elevated and underground railroad (Stadtbahn) of
residence with rather conventional decoration. Wagner's 1897-1898 project
Vienna. The stations that he designed at the start were in a rather
for an academy of fine arts combined classical planning principles inspired
conventional historicist mode. This, however, changed drastically in later
from the Roman imperial fora with an aggressive monumentality; however,
stations, presumably under the influence of his pupils Josef Hoffmann and
the open metallic crown with floral decoration which topped the main
Josef Maria Olbrich, both of whom worked for him for several years. Thus in
building was a distinctly modern element.
the later stations, such as the Hofpavillon in Schönbrunn and the Karlsplatz
In 1894 Wagner was appointed professor of architecture at the Station, Wagner used the historicist formal vocabulary in a freer and more
Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, replacing Carl von Hasenauer, and Wagner held innovative manner. In his blocks of flats in Vienna, such as Linke Wienzeile 38
and 40 of 1898, Wagner adorned the facades, which were essentially inspired other hand, exercised a broad and fruitful influence and found their full
from Renaissance palace architecture, with bold flat ornament, purely Art realization in the work of subsequent generations.
Nouveau in character. In that year Wagner joined the Vienna Secession,
In 1897 Otto Wagner joined the Vienna Secession Group of Artists,
remaining a member until 1905.
founded by Gustav Klimt among others. Otto Wagner died in 1918, at the age
After the turn of the century, Wagner started throwing off the Art of 77, leaving indelible marks in the city of Vienna.
Nouveau influence. His work in the new mode culminated in Sankt Leopold,
Design Philosophy and Principles
the church of the Steinhof Asylum in Penzing outside Vienna, built in 1904-
1907. This was a large cruciform edifice with a hemispherical dome raised on Otto Wagner and Modern Architecture
a cylindrical drum. There was abundant decoration, but this had been
Otto Wagner in his famous inaugural address to the Academy of fine
submitted to a linear stylization and was kept within rectangles and squares.
arts in 1894 had started to already move away from his historicist leanings
Although remotely Byzantinesque in character, it appeared nonhistoricist
when he said
and very much in the spirit of the work of younger architects such as Josef
Maria Olbrich and Peter Behrens. Wagner's masterpiece of the time was the “The starting point of every artistic creation must be the need, ability,
Postal Savings Bank in Vienna of 1904-1906, a work characterized by means and achievements of our time.” He goes even further in the
linearity, smoothness, and crispness of design. The external walls were preface of first edition of Modern Architecture in 1895 “ One idea
covered by marble revetments held in place by exposed aluminum inspires this book, namely THAT THE BASIS OF TODAY’S
fastenings. The interior, equally striking in its lightness and in the elegant use PREDOMINANT VIEWS ON ARCHITECTURE MUST BE SHIFTED, AND
of exposed metal and glass, secured Wagner a place among the 20th-century WE MUST FULLY BECOME AWARE THAT THE SOLE DEPARTURE POINT
pioneers. FOR OUR ARTISTIC WORK CAN ONLY BE MODERN LIFE.” (His capitals)
Also in the same book he asserts “….if one surveys what has been
Through his 1894 lecture, which was published as a book in numerous
accomplished up till now, then one must be convinced THAT TODAY
editions, Wagner facilitated greatly the reform of architectural practice and
THE CLEFT BETWEEN THE MODRN MOVEMENT AND THE
the establishment of modern design principles, such as honest use of
RENAISSANCE IS ALREADY LARGER THAN BETWEEN THE
materials, especially steel; rejection of historicist formal vocabulary; and
RENAISSANCE AND ANTIQUITY.”
preference for simplicity and clarity of form. His own work remained tied to
tradition much longer, although it became increasingly modern after the turn The above might be read as a precursor to the oft-repeated comment
of the century. Among his works, the Vienna railroad with its stations and the about the modern movement negating historical and representational value.
Postal Savings Bank provided exemplary solutions to contemporary and Although, in context of Wagner, who was himself up till the late nineteenth
relatively new architectural problems. His theories and teachings, on the century in favor of ‘a certain free renaissance’, historical values are even
more closely read and critiqued than a mere negation. After Recognizing the IDEOLOGICAL CONTEXT
loss of architecture’s loss of function as a monument or a symbolic form,
As noted earlier, Wagner’s appointment to the Academy of fine arts
construction and technology were read as the means to project
in Vienna caused a stir when he publicly and vehemently proclaimed the shift
architecture’s continuity with its past by Wagner.
from a historicist attitude to a ‘realist’ one. The term realism became one of
He was certainly not alone in taking this radical direction. A major the most important parts of his radical agenda. He noted in the inaugural
change that was a major influence in Viennese art and architectural address:
environment was the formation of the Union of Austrian Fine artists
“Our living conditions and methods of construction must be fully and
commonly referred to as the Secession. The organization was established as
completely expressed if architecture is not to be reduced as
a result of the increasingly conservative and isolationist stance of the
caricature. The realism of our time must pervade the developing work
Association of Austrian artists. Although he was not one of the founding
of art. It will not harm it, nor will any decline of art ensue as a
members, Wagner is widely recognized as a significant member of the
consequence of it; rather it will breathe a new and pulsating life into
movement along with Gustav Klimt, Joseph Maria Olbrich and Josef
forms, and in time conquer new fields that today are still devoid of
Hoffmann. The Majolica house (See Fig.2) is a significant in this period with
art- for example that of engineering.”
its flowery motifs and decorative use of iron. The composition seems to
emphasize on the structural arrangement behind the façade. This
convergence of novel material application and new stylistic motifs expressed
by the secessionists implied a deeper ideological context that was built up
over time and negates the conventional ‘break with history’ explanation for
the rise of modern architecture.

As J. Duncan Barry notes in his essay “From historicism to realism”,

this realist attitude can be traced back to the radical stylistic rupture in
French academic painting beginning with Gustave Courbet (See Fig.3) and the
literary socialist realism of Emile Zola. Also, its usage in the German work. But Semper also maintained that the human culture had always
architecture parlance was common place in the 1890’s, although with an been enchanted by the veil or mask…the mask was the constant
ambiguous set of meanings attached to it. According to Mallgrave, element, the symbol representing themes that cannot be expressed
by the inner structure.”
“(Realism in German architecture varied) its meaning from an anti
academic and anti romantic return to the demands of modern life, to However, Wagner seems to have taken the idea of new architectural
a verism or ideal striving for truth in art, or to a functionalist forms arising out of new means of construction and purpose a little too far
acknowledgement of needs and technical demands, dispensing than what even Semper would have agreed with. In a curious criticism of
thereby with such formal elements such as gables, towers, mansards, Semper, Wagner suggested that he lacked the courage to complete his
oriels, and an abundance of plastic decoration.” theory in a consistent manner and compromised himself “with a symbolism
of construction, instead of naming construction itself as the primitive cell of
Coming back to Wagner’s understanding of the realist agenda, it
architecture.”
seemed problematic for him to reconcile the ‘realist’ agenda with his largely
historicist and symbolic practice. In his book, Modern Architecture, he later In his essay “From Realism to Sachlichkeit”, Mallgrave discusses this
favored the term building –art (Baukunst) to architecture. This term already criticism of Wagner through the writings of Wagner’s contemporary
reflects the convergence of artistic idealism and the realist tendencies architectural critic, Richard Streiter. He acknowledges Streiter as the first
initiated by Wagner in his work. His Secessionist leanings with symbolic person to introduce the word Sachlichkeit in architectural parlance. The term
motifs should not be treated as aberrations in his line of thinking but rather Sachlichkeit as a simple or straightforward way of solving a problem implied
as Wagner’s coming to terms with the idea of Art Nouveau tendencies as a a greater meaning than being just functional. It put the realist agenda of
catalyst to bring forth the ‘inner form’ of the building by emphasizing its Wagner in focus by criticizing it for going too far as to make a virtue out of a
construction principles through ornamental treatment. necessity. Streiter went further and speculated that Wagner’s insistence on a
“straightforward Sachlichkeit” resulted from a misreading of Semper’s
Wagner’s dual emphasis on construction and art in building can be
arguments. Indeed, Semper himself had anticipated such readings of his
understood as a consequence of his understanding of Gottfried Semper’s
writings and termed these people “materialists,” who have “fettered the idea
theory of Bekleidung which accepted a building’s forces necessary and
too much to the material…believing that the store of architectural forms is
subordinated the structure to them. Akos Moravanszky notes:
determined solely by the structural and material conditions.” Streiter aptly
“According to Semper, the origin of a work of art is influenced termed this tendency as ‘tectonic realism.'
by such factors as materials and modes of construction, local and
However, Wagner seems to confound this critique through his
ethnological influences, climate, religious and political institutions,
apparent disjunction with his tectonic realism in theory and his secessionist
and the personal influences of the patron, artist, and the producer of
designs that have pure historicist and ornamental basis. This uneasy
coexistence of Wagner’s aspirations and his designs seem to reflect the fortifications of the feudal era were replaced with institutions of the new bourgeois
complexity and vigor of the artistic context in his times. We shall now look at power: University, Parliament, Museums, etc.), as well as upscale blocks of housing
some of the peculiar tectonic strategies he used in one of his seminal works The new Ringstrasse development did not stitch the historic city center with
that established Wagner’s artistic outlook as the final arbiter of his own the surrounding suburbs as much as permanently separate them. Rather than a
realist polemic and his symbolist practice. series of urban spaces and connections it was essentially a linear void that
circumnavigated the historic city.
Notable Works
Ringstrasse of Vienna: Designing the City with Architecture Critical of this
development was Camillo Sitte,
One must view the urban architectural work of Otto Wagner within the
the prominent urban planning
context of the redevelopment of the Ringstrasse of Vienna. As in many European
theorist whose book “City Planning
cities at the time, the old fortifications around the medieval city center of Vienna
According to Artistic Principles”
were no longer needed, and pressures for redevelopment were great. These old
was published in 1889 and was
exceedingly influential. His study
of cities in this book emphasized
the importance of plazas and
squares, composed and enclosed
spaces that served as outdoor
rooms. In particular, he criticized
the nineteenth-century trend of
floating massive civic and
institutional buildings in the
middle of vast plazas. To Sitte, the
plazas had to have an enclosed,
human scale, and the important
monuments (typically churches in
the past) were not free-standing,
but emerged from the surrounding
fabric. Sitte advocated for an
informal, picturesque composition,
as well as an approach that was
“artfully” choreographed.
 Sitte even proposed changes to the Ringstrasse, attempting to arrest the Wagner vested monumentality not in buildings, but the street itself, which
linearity of the new boulevard and to capture space along its length. Modernity with can be seen as vast cuts through the urban fabric, most famously in his Groszstadt
its vastness of scale and it’s emphasis on speed was a tragic turn of events for Sitte, Plan.
one with profound emotional and cultural ramifications.

Wagner,
on the other hand,
embraced the new
modern city, and
believed it should
represent
movement and
efficiency. His
buildings were in
deference to the
streets. They were
not freestanding,
or attached in
picturesque ways
as recommended
by Sitte, but
inserted into the
urban fabric. In this
way, the buildings
DEFLECTED and
FACILITATED
movement.
 But before the Groszstadt plans, Wagner proved himself an incredibly adept
sculptor of urban blocks. For his Groszstadt, the urban blocks were units of
aggregation, and the open space was either the space of the street, or the residual
space of blocks removed, in both cases geometrically subservient to the infinite
expansion of the urban module.

Similarly, in Wagner’s plan for the Franz Joseph Municipal Museum, which
was on a prominent site adjacent to the Karlskirche of Fischer von Erlach, he created
a building that was not only itself a sophisticated urban proposition, but was part of
a larger urban ensemble that gave definition to the new park and maintained a
deferential respect to the Karlskirche.

But when Wagner was working with actual urban conditions in Vienna, he
showed a very astute ability to navigate between the space of the city and the form
of the building. The block for Wagner was the connection between these two scales,
and provided urban synthesis. Here, for example, is his plan for the Technical
Museum in which the block and building almost converge. The building in plan is
really an ensemble of forms which both emphasize streets (by defining the block
edge), but also whose parts suggest hierarchy, access, urban scale, etc. The building
in this case is a sophisticated machine that resolves the complex geometries of the
block and surrounding urban conditions.
 Between 1894 and 1901, architect Otto Wagner was commissioned to
design Vienna's Stadtbahn, a new rail system that connected urban and suburban
areas of this growing European city. With iron, stone, and brick, Wagner built 36
stations and 15 bridges—many decorated in the Art Nouveau styling of the day.
Otto Wagner, Stadtsmuseum: perspective showing Wagner’s intention to
use his building as part of a larger urban ensemble that frames the Karlskirche Like architects of the Chicago School, Wagner designed Karlsplatz with a
steel frame. He chose an elegant marble slab for the façade and Jugendstil (Art
Wagner’s buildings beautifully balanced between exquisitiely designed Nouveau) ornamentation.
objects, appropriate for the site and program, and sensitive pieces of larger urban
aggregations. They were both object and context, figure and ground. These Public outcry saved this pavilion as underground rails were implemented.
seemingly paradoxical qualities, perhaps even responsibilities, of buildings were The building was dismantled, preserved, and reassembled onto a new, higher
increasingly difficult to find after the 1930’s and advent of high-Modernism. foundation above the new subways. Today, as part of the Wien Museum, the Otto
Wagner Pavillon Karlsplatz is one of the most photographed structures in Vienna.

Viennese Wiener Stadtbahn, Metropolitan Railway System, Karlsplatz Stadtbahn

Station
 Architect Otto Wagner was part of the "Viennese Secession"
movement at the end of the 19th century, which was marked by a sort of
revolutionary spirit of enlightenment. Wagner's architecture was a cross
between traditional styles and Art Nouveau (or Jugendstil, as it was called in
Austria).
Otto Wagner's ornate Majolika Haus is named after the weather-
proof, ceramic tiles painted in floral designs on its façade, as in majolica
pottery. Despite its flat, rectilinear shape, the building is considered Art
Nouveau. Wagner used new, modern materials and rich color, yet retained
the traditional use of ornamentation. The eponymous majolica, decorative
iron balconies, and flexible, S-shaped linear embellishment accentuate the
building's structure. Today Majolika Haus has retail on the ground floor and
apartments above.
Majolika Haus, 1898-1899
An entire facade built of small ceramic tiles, also known as majolica,
flow into floral shapes as the extend higher up the wall. Other materials used
in the exterior finishing include iron and wooden frames for the windows, in
a perimeter block and infill building type. Wagner established himself in
Vienna as a man of beautiful detail, especially in the cases of the Stadbahn,
and the bridges and locks along the Dunabe Canal. In a political struggle,
Wagner surprised the Viennacommunity when he left the Kunsterhaus to join
the Secessionists.
The two apartment complexes both built in the same period and in
the center of Vienna were initially rejected as being hideous beyond
measure. These apartments rest side-by-side, and together form an
incomparably unparalleled and detailed Secessionist wall, which separates
the dwellings and shops from the street. With a basic ironwork form, the two
bottom floors are treated as a base which extends the presence of the shops
up throughout the second level.
 A visual gradation occurs through the application of Majolican tiles;
very sparse near the green iron base, there is a gradual increase of
"... the Post Office Savings Bank resembles a gargantuan
complexity and density as the wall stretches upwards toward the roof, using
metal box, an effect due in no small measure to the thin polished
colors from nature like reds and greens. Lion heads sit in relief on the
sheets of white Sterzing marble that are anchored to its façade with
overhanging eave, and the two complexes are separated by their zone of
aluminum rivets. Its glazed canopy frame, entrance doors, balustrade
balconies.
and parapet rail are also of aluminum, as are the metal furnishings of
This style of "Viennese Secession" was marked by a characteristically the banking hall itself."—Kenneth Frampton, Modern Architecture
revolutionary spirit of enlightenment, and was considered to be Art Nouveau (3rd ed., 1992), p. 83
even despite its flat and rectilinear shapes. Through Wagner's manipulation
The "modernism" of the architecture is Wagner's use of traditional
of static materials that were rich in color, the architect was able to retain
stone materials (marble) held in place by new building materials—aluminum
traditional meanings of ornamentation.
covered iron bolts, which become the façade's industrial ornamentation.
Majolika haus remains with its intentional program; it currently Cast-iron architecture of the mid-19th century was a "skin" molded to imitate
houses retail on the ground floor with apartments above. historic designs; Wagner covered his brick, concrete, and steel building with
a new veneer for the modern age.
Austrian Postal Savings Bank, 1903-1912
The interior Banking Hall is as light and modern as what Frank Lloyd
The Postal
Wright was doing inside the Rookery Building in 1905.
Savings Bank is often
cited as architect Otto
Wagner's most
Ever
important work. In its
hear of
design, Wagner
accomplishes beauty
with functional
simplicity, setting the
tone for modernism.
British architect and
historian Kenneth
Frampton has described the exterior this way:
Scheckverkehr? You do it all the time, but at the turn of the 20th century " If architecture is not rooted in life, in the needs of
"cashless transfer" by check was a new concept in banking. The bank to be contemporary man, then it will be lacking in the immediate, the
built in Vienna would be modern—customers could "move money" from one animating, the refreshing, and will sink down to the level of a
account to another without actually moving cash—paper transactions that troublesome consideration—it will just cease to be an art."—The
were more than IOUs. Could new functions be met with new architecture? Practice of Art, p. 122
Otto Wagner was one of 37 participants in the competition to build For Wagner, this patient population deserved a functionally designed
an "Imperial and Royal Postal Savings Bank." He won the commission by space of beauty as much as the man doing business at the Postal Savings
changing the design rules. According to the Museum Postsparkasse, Bank. Like his other structures, Wagner's brick church is clad with marble
Wagner's design submission, "contrary to the specifications," combined the plates held in place with copper bolts and topped with a dome of copper and
interior spaces that had similar functions, which sounds remarkably like what gold.
Louis Sullivan was advocating for skyscraper design—form follows function.
" The bright interior spaces are illuminated by a glass ceiling,
and on the first level, a glass floor provides light to ground-floor
spaces in a truly revolutionary way. The building’s harmonious
synthesis of form and function was a remarkable breakthrough for
the spirit of modernism."— Lee F. Mindel, FAIA
Church of St. Leopold, 1904-1907
The Kirche am Steinhof, also known as the Church of St. Leopold, was
designed by Otto Wagner for the Steinhof Psychiatric Hospital. As
architecture was in a state of transition, so, too, was the field of psychiatry
being modernized by the likes of a local Austrian neurologist. Dr. Sigmund
Freud (1856-1939). Wagner believed that architecture had to functionally
serve the people who used it, even for the mentally ill. As Otto Wagner wrote
in his most famous book Moderne Architektur:
" This task of correctly recognizing the needs of man is the first
prerequisite for the architect's successful creation."—Composition, p.
81
Wagner Villa I, 1886 and Villa II, 1912 When his mother died in 1880, Wagner divorced and married the love
of his life, Louise Stiffel. The second Villa Wagner was built next door.
Two of the most famous residences in Vienna, Austria were designed
and occupied by that city's iconic architect, Otto Wagner.
The second Villa Wagner was built near Villa I, but the difference in
design is striking. Otto Wagner's ideas about architecture had morphed from
the Classical design of his training, expressed in Villa I, into a more modern,
symmetrical simplicity displayed in the smaller Villa II. Ornamented as only a
master of Art Nouveau could do, the second Villa Wagner pulls its design
from Otto Wagner's masterpiece being built at the same time, the Austrian
Postal Savings Bank. Professor Talbot Hamlin has written:
" Otto Wagner's own buildings show a slow, gradual, and inevitable
growth out of simplified Baroque and classic forms into shapes of
continually increasing creative novelty, as he came with greater and
greater certainty to express their structural principle. His Vienna
Otto Wagner was married twice and built a home for each of his Postal savings Bank, in its handling of the exterior as a pure veneer
wives. The first Villa Wagner was for Josefine Domhart, whom he married in over the metal frame, in its use of regular steel rhythms as the basis
1863, early in his career and at his controlling mother's encouragement. of its design, and especially in its simple, graceful, and delicate
interiors, in which the slimness of the steel structure is so beautifully
Villa I is Palladian in design, with four Ionic columns announcing the
expressed, anticipates in all of these qualities much of the architetural
Neo-Classic home. Wrought iron railings and splashes of color express the
work of twenty years later in date."—Talbot Hamlin, 1953
changing face of the architecture of the time.
Wagner built Villa II for his second family with his second wife, Louise
The villa is owned by Austrian Fantastic Realism painter Ernst Fuchs,
Stiffel. He thought he would outlive the much younger Louise, who had been
who established his own private museum there. He restored many parts of
governess to the children of his first marriage, but she died in 1915—three
the villa according to Wagner’s initial plans, and added his own flamboyant
years before Otto Wagner died at the age of 76.
style to other parts, the interiors and the gardens. Expect an exciting mix of
grand Historicism, colourful Art Nouveau and extravagant Fantastic Realism.
Nussdorf Weir and Lock, 1894-1898 arrangements had been envisaged near the Ostbahnbrücke and directly
before the harbour in Freudenau.
The construction of the weir and lock was necessary to protect the
new developments on the canal (the metropolitan railway, the tributary
canals and later the harbour and ships) from floods and ice, but also to
maintain sufficient water in the canal so that ships could pass. Wilhelm von
Engerth’s Schwimmtor provided satisfactory protection from floating ice, but
it only gave a very limited degree of control over the amount of water in the
canal. In particular because of the need to protect the tributary canals built
along the Donaukanal, it was essential that the level of water in the canal did
not rise by more than 80 centimetres.
Most people know Wagner’s Danube Weir at Nussdorf and the
Schemerl Bridge(1894 to 1898) from a boat trip on the Western Vienna
Danube and Danube Canal. The weir has two imposing bronze lions on either
The weir and lock are located behind the Nussdorf station of the side. It looks like a city gate, which was the architect’s intention. The weir
Emperor Franz Joseph Railway. Although they are named after a suburb in marks the point where the Danube Canal bifurcates from the Danube. The
the 19th district of Vienna, Döbling, they actually fall within the jurisdiction weir itself was thoroughly renovated in the 1960s and 1970s, but you can still
of the 20th district, Brigittenau. feel the architect when viewing the Schemerl Bridge.
Before the construction of the weir and lock in Nussdorf, the
Donaukanal was protected from floating ice and to a large extent also from
flooding by the Wilhelm von Engerth’s floating barrier, the Schwimmtor. The
Schwimmtor remained in service until World War I and was finally scrapped
in 1945.
The weir and lock in Nussdorf and the Kaiserbadwehr (another weir)
were the only hydraulic engineering works that were ever realised as part of
the plan to create a harbour in the Donaukanal. Two further weir and lock
Victor Pierre Horta After being expelled for bad behavior he joined Department of
1861 – 1947 Architecture at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent instead. In 1878,
Horta left for Paris finding work with Architect and designer Jules Debuysson
Victor Pierre Horta is a
in Montmarte. There he was inspired by the emerging impressionist and
Belgian Architect and
pointillist artists, and also by the possibilities of working in iron and glass.
designer.John Julius Norwich
described him as “undoubtedly When Horta’s father died in 1880, he returned to Belgium and moved to
the key European Art Nouveau Brussels, married his first wife, with whom he later fathered two daughters,
architect”. He is considered one and went to study architecture at the Acade’mie Royale des Beaux-Arts. In
of the most important names in Brussels Horta built a friendship with Paul Hankar, who would later also
Art Nouveau architecture. embrace Art Nouveau.
With the construction of his Hotel Horta did well in his studies and was taken on as assistant by his
Tassel in Brussels in 1892-3, he is professor Alhonse Balat, architect to Leopold II of Belgium. Together they
sometimes credited as the first to designed the royal Greenhouse of Laeken, Horta’s first work to utilize glass
introduce the style to architecture from and iron.
the decorative arts.
In 1884, Horta won the first Prix Godecharle to be awarded for
The “biomorphic whiplash” style Architecture, as well as the Grand Prix in architecture on leaving the Royal
that Horta promoted deeply influenced Academy.By 1885, Horta was working on his own and was commissioned to
architect Hector Guimard who used it in design three houses which were built that year. The same year he also joined
France and extended its influence the Central Society of Belgian Architecture.
abroad.
Over the next few years he entered a number of competitions for public
Life and Career work and collaborated with sculptors on statuary and even tombs, winning a
number of prizes.He focused on the curvature of his designs, believing that
Born in Ghent, Horta was first attracted to the architectural profession
the forms he produced were highly practical and not artistic affections.
when he helped his uncle on a building site at the age of 12.He had a great
interest in music since childhood and, in 1873, went to study musical theory During this period, Horta socialized widely and in 1888, joined the
at the Ghent Conservatory. freemasons as a member of the lodge Les Amis Philanthropes of the Grand
Orient of Belgium in Brussels. This ensured a steam of clients when he
returned to designing houses and shops from 1893.
 Horta was appointed Head of Graphic Design for Architecture at the The building has since been recognized as the 1st appearance of Art Nouveau
Universite’ Libre de Bruxelles in 1892, before being promoted to Professor of in architecture.
Architecture in 1893, a post he left in 1911 after the university authorities
After receiving great acclaim for his designs, Horta was commissioned
failed to offer him the opportunity to design an extension to the university
to complete many other important buildings throughout Brussels. Enhancing
buildings.
this new Architectural style.
Art Nouveau
 Horta designed the Hotel Solvey
After (1895-1900) and his own residence
introducing Art (1898) employing iron and stone
Nouveau in an façade with elaborate iron
exhibition held in interiors.
1892, he was  During 1894, Horta was elected
commissioned to President of the Central Society of
design a home for Belgian Architecture, although he
Professor Emile resigned the following year
Tassel, he transfused following a dispute caused when
the recent influences he was awarded the commission
into Hotel Tassel, for a kindergarten on rue Saint-
completed in 1893. Ghislain/Sint-Gissleinsstraat
without a public competition.
The design had a groundbreaking
semi open plan floor layout for a house of
the time, and incorporated interior iron
structure with curvilinear botanical forms,  From 1895-
later described as “biomorphic whiplash” 1899 Horta
designed the
Ornate and elaborate designs and natural lighting were concealed Maison de
behind a stone façade to harmonize the building with the more rigid houses Peuple (House
next door. of the People),
a major
building for
 the progressive Belgian Worker’s Party consisting of a large attracted great interest from the European medical community, and his
complex of offices, meeting rooms, café and a conference and buildings continue in use to this day.
concert hall seating over 2,000 people. Its demolition in 1965, in
In 1907, and of note
spite of an international protest by over 700 architects, has been
for the inclusion of a greater
described as one of the largest architectural crimes of the 20 th
number of classical
century.
references, Horta designed
20th Century the Museum for Fine Arts in
Tournai although it did not
In tune with the public mood,
pen until 1928 due to the
after some ten years designing in the
war.
Art Nouveau style that he pioneered
and for which his is best known, from With WWI in
the turn of the century Horta’s progress, Horta left Belgium
designs gradually started to become for London in February 1915 and attended the Town Planning Conference on
simplified and less flamboyant, with the Reconstruction of Belgium, organized by the International Garden Cities
more classical references. This can be and Town Planning Association. Unable to return to Belgium due to war, at
seen in his 1901 extension to his the end of the year he decided to go to United States where he gave a
recently completed Hotel van number of lectures at universities including Harvard, MIT and Yale. And in
Eetvelde, in which he chose to specify 1917, became Professor of Architecture at George Washington University
a pair of marble columns. and Charles Eliot Norton Memorial Lecturer.
In 1906, Horta accepted yhe Towards Art Deco and Modernism
commission for the new Brugman
On Horta’s return to Brussels in January 1919 he sold his home and
University Hospital. Developed to
workshop on the rue Americaine, and also became a full member of the
take into account the views of the
Belgian Royal Academy.The post-war austerity meant that Art Nouveau was
clinicians and hospital managers,
no longer affordable or fashionable.
Horta’s design separated the functions of the hospital into a number of low-
rise pavilions spread over the 18 hectares. Although used during WWI, the From this point on, Horta who had been gradually been simplifying
official opening was delayed until 1923. Its unusual design and layout his styles over the previous decade, no longer used organic forms and
instead based his designs on the geometrical. He continued to use rational
floor plans and to apply the latest developments in building technology and Internally, Horta’s
building services engineering. Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, a multi- complex floor plans again
purpose cultural center designed in a formal style that was new at the time, demonstrates his talent
but which foreshadows Art Deco as well as having cubist features, is a for rational design.
particularly prominent example. Combining his love for
music and architecture,
Horta developed the design for the Paleis over several years from
Horta designed an
1919 with construction finally beginning in 1923.
unusual egg-shaped
concert hall which is
regarded as one of the
World’s greatest,
although modifications in
1970 harmed the acoustics.

Horta actually
began working on his
longest running
project-the modernist
Externally the building is clad in stone. However it was largely built Brussels-Central
using reinforced concrete. Following the way he head left steel exposed in his railway station in 1910.
Art Nouveau buildings, Horta had originally intended to leave the concrete Work didn’t start until
exposed internally. Unfortunately, the surface was unsatisfactory and to his 27 years later. The
regret, had to be covered. start of the
construction was
seriously delayed due to the lengthy process of purchasing and demolishing
over 1,000 buildings along the route of the new railway.Horta was still
working on the station when he died in 1947, and the building was
completed to his plans by his colleagues. It eventually opened on October 4,
1952.
Heritage
After Art Nouveau lost favor, many of Horta’s buildings were
destroyed, most notably the Volkshuis (Maison de Peuple), demolished in
1965 as mentioned. However, several of Horta’s buildings are still in Brussels
up to this day and available to tour. Most notable are the Winkels/Magasins
Waucquez, formerly a department store, now the Brussels Comic Book
Museum and four of his private houses (hotels), which were designated as a
UNESCO World Heritage Site:

Hotel Tassel
Horta Museum

Hotel Solvay Hotel Van Eetvelde

Structuralism The term "structuralism" is a related term that describes a particular
philosophical/literary movement or moment. The term appeared in the
"Structuralism is the belief that phenomena of human life are not intelligible
works of FrenchanthropologistClaude Lévi-Strauss and gave rise in France to
except through their interrelations. These relations constitute a structure,
the "structuralist movement," which influenced the thinking of other writers
and behind local variations in the surface phenomena there are constant
such as Louis Althusser, the psychoanalystJacques Lacan, as well as the
laws of abstract culture."-Simon Blackburn
structural Marxism of Nicos Poulantzas, most of whom disavowed
themselves as being a part of this movement.

Introduction

Structuralism in General Structuralism in Architecture

In sociology, anthropology and linguistics, structuralism is the Structuralism is a movement in architecture and urban planning
methodology that elements of human culture must be understood by way of which evolved around the middle of the 20th century. It was a reaction to
their relationship to a larger, overarching system or structure. It works to CIAM-Functionalism (Rationalism)which had led to a lifeless expression of
uncover the structures that underlie all the things that humans do, think, urban planning that ignored the identity of the inhabitants and urban forms.
perceive, and feel. Alternatively, as summarized by philosopher Simon
Blackburn, structuralism is "the belief that phenomena of human life are not
intelligible except through their interrelations. These relations constitute a Structuralism as Parallel Movement to Postmodernism
structure, and behind local variations in the surface phenomena there are
In Europe, structuralism is seen as a parallel movement to American
constant laws of abstract culture".
postmodern architecture. The first interpretations of both movements came
Structuralism in Europe developed in the early 1900s, in the structural up in the 1960s. Through publications and presentations by authors such as
linguistics of Ferdinand de Saussure and the subsequent Prague, Moscowand Charles Jencks, Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, postmodern
Copenhagen schools of linguistics. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, when architecture was successful throughout the world for decades. While
structural linguistics was facing serious challenges from the likes of Noam postmodernism is concerned with an architectural style, many aspects of
Chomsky and thus fading in importance, an array of scholars in the architecture and urbanism are treated in the structuralist movement.
humanities borrowed Saussure's concepts for use in their respective fields of
study. French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss was arguably the first such
scholar, sparking a widespread interest in structuralism.
 In contrast to the postmodern movement, structuralism has How Structuralism Emerged
developed more slowly, less noticeably during several periods in the last
Structuralism in architecture and urban planning had its origins in
decades. The theoretical contributions of structuralism were developed in
the Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM) after World War II.
Europe, Japan, US and Canada. In 2011, the first comprehensive compilation
Between 1928 and 1959, the CIAM was an important platform for the
of structuralist activity appeared in a publication called Structuralism
discussion of architecture and urbanism. Various groups with often
Reloaded.In this extensive book, articles by 47 international authors were
conflicting views were active in this organization; for example, members with
published about philosophical, historical, artistic and other relevant aspects.
a scientific approach to architecture without aesthetic premises
the selecting process for all these different views, including what is more or
(Rationalists), members who regarded architecture as an art form (Le
less important, needs time to give a definitive overall picture of
Corbusier), members who were proponents of high- or low-rise building
structuralism. the following parts of this article are based on the current
(Ernst May), members supporting a course of reform after World War II
state of the publication Structuralism Reloaded.
(Team 10), members of the old guard and so on. Individual members of the
A few months after publishing this book, the RIBA Institute in London small splinter group Team 10 laid the foundations for Structuralism. The
discussed the new candidates for the RIBA Gold Medal in 2012. An actual influence of this team was later interpreted by second generation
question was: "Should the Venturis be given this year's RIBA Gold Medal?" protagonist Herman Hertzberger when he said: "I am a product of Team
Surprisingly enough, the RIBA-committee did not award the Venturis with 10."As a group of avant-garde architects, Team 10 was active from 1953 to
their postmodernist view, and instead, gave Herman Hertzberger the prize 1981, and two different movements emerged from it: the New Brutalism of
for his structuralist architecture and theoretical contributions. The times had the English members (Alison and Peter Smithson) and the Structuralism of
changed and a shift in emphasis had occurred. The comment of the former the Dutch members (Aldo van Eyck and Jacob Bakema).
RIBA president Jack Pringle was: "The Royal Gold Medal, Britain's most
prestigious award, should go to an architect that has taken us forward, not Outside Team 10, other ideas developed that furthered the
backwards." Today, postmodern architecture can be compared, to some Structuralist movement - influenced by the concepts of Louis Kahn in the
degree with the architectural movement, Traditionalismus, in Europe. United States, Kenzo Tange in Japan and John Habraken in the Netherlands
(with his theory of user participation in housing). Herman
Hertzberger and Lucien Kroll made important architectural contributions in
the field of participation.
In 1960, the Japanese architect Kenzo Tange designed his well-known Tokyo One of the most influential manifestos for the Structuralist movement
Bay Plan. Reflecting later on the initial phase of that project, he said: "It was, was compiled by Aldo van Eyck in the architectural
I believe, around 1959 or at the beginning of the sixties that I began to think magazine Forum 7/1959.It was drawn up as the programme for
about what I was later to call Structuralism."Tange also wrote the article the International Congress of Architects in Otterlo in 1959. The central aspect
"Function, Structure and Symbol, 1966", in which he describes the transition of this issue of Forum was a frontal attack on the Dutch representatives
from a functional to a structural approach in thinking. Tange considers the of CIAM-Rationalism who were responsible for the reconstruction work after
period from 1920 to 1960 under the heading of "Functionalism" and the time World War II, (for tactical reasons, planners like van Tijen, van Eesteren,
from 1960 onwards under the heading of "Structuralism". Merkelbach and others were not mentioned). The magazine contains many
examples of and statements in favour of a more human form of urban
Le Corbusier created several early projects and built prototypes in a planning. This congress in 1959 marks the official start of
Structuralist mode, some of them dating back to the 1920s. Although he was Structuralism,although earlier projects and buildings did exist. Only since
criticized by the members of Team 10 in the 1950s for certain aspects of his 1969 has the term "Structuralism" been used in publications in relation to
work (urban concept without a "sense of place" and the dark interior streets architecture.
of the Unité), they nevertheless acknowledged him as a great model and
creative personality in architecture and art.

Herman Hertzberger

The Architects/Proponents behind Structuralism in Architecture Hertzberger can be considered, along with Aldo van Eyck, as the
influence behind the Dutch structuralist movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
Aldo Van Eyck Among Hertzberger's best known buildings are the "Diagoon" houses (1971),
the Montessori school in Delft (1966–70) and the administration building for
A member of CIAM and then in 1954 a co-founder of "Team 10", Van the Centraal Beheer Insurance Company building in Apeldoorn(1970–72). He
Eyck lectured throughout Europe and northern America propounding the believed that the architect's role was not to provide a complete solution, but
need to reject Functionalism and attacking the lack of originality in most to provide a spatial framework to be filled in by the users. This idea is coming
post-war Modernism. Van Eyck's position as co-editor of the Dutch from the Participation movement, initiated in 1961 by John Habraken with
magazine Forum helped publicise the "Team 10" call for a return to his book "Supports". Herman Hertzberger was one of the first architects, who
humanism within architectural design. produced architectural solutions with user participation. Centraal Beheer and
the "Diagoon" houses are belonging to the most inspiring examples of the
international Participation movement. Kahn created a style that was monumental and monolithic; his heavy
buildings for the most part do not hide their weight, their materials, or the
Since structuralism has different directions, there is more than one way they are assembled. Famous for his meticulously-built works, his
definition. The theoretical contribution by Herman Hertzberger belongs to provocative proposals that remained unbuilt, and his teaching, Kahn was one
the most interesting versions. A recent and often cited statement by of the most influential architects of the twentieth century. He was awarded
Hertzberger is: "In Structuralism, one differentiates between a structure with the AIA Gold Medal and the RIBA Gold Medal. At the time of his death he
a long life cycle and infills with shorter life cycles." was considered by some as "America's foremost living architect."

A more detailed description by Hertzberger is published in 1973. It is

Kenzō Tange
a structuralist definition in a general sense, but also the basis concept for
user participation: "The fact that we put 'form' in a central position with He was a Japanese architect, and winner of the 1987 Pritzker
respect to such notions as 'space' or 'architecture', means in itself no more Prize for architecture. He was one of the most significant architects of the
than a shifting of accent. What we are talking about is in fact another notion 20th century, combining traditional Japanese styles with modernism, and
of form than that, which premises a formal and unchanging relationship designed major buildings on five continents. Tange was also an influential
between object and viewer, and maintains this. It is not an outward form patron of the Metabolist movement. He said: "It was, I believe, around 1959
wrapped around the object that matters to us, but form in the sense of or at the beginning of the sixties that I began to think about what I was later
inbuilt capacity and potential vehicle of significance. Form can be filled-in to call structuralism", (cited in Plan 2/1982, Amsterdam), a reference to the
with significance, but can also be deprived of it again, depending on the use architectural movement known as Dutch Structuralism.
that's made of it, through the values we attach to, or add to it, or which we
even deprive it of, - all this dependent on the way in which the users and the Influenced from an early age by the Swiss modernist, Le Corbusier,
form react to, and play on each other..” Tange gained international recognition in 1949 when he won the competition
for the design of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. He was a member of CIAM
(Congres Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne) in the 1950s. He did not
join the group of younger CIAM architects known as Team X, though his 1960
Tokyo Bay plan was influential for Team 10 in the 1960s, as well as the group
Louis Kahn that became Metabolism.
  Coherence, growth and change on all levels of the urban structure.
John Habraken The concept of a Sense of place. Tokens of identification (identifying
devices). Urban Structuring and Articulation (of the built volume).
He is a Dutcharchitect, educator, and theorist. His theoretical
contributions are in the field of user participation in mass housing, the
integration of users and residents into the design process. The visual result of  Polyvalent form and individual interpretations (compare the concept
his theory is the architecture of lively variety. Habraken is the initiator of the of langue et paroleby Ferdinand de Saussure). User Participation in housing.
international "Participation movement" in architecture. His book "Supports: Integration of "high" and "low" culture in architecture (fine architecture and
An Alternative to Mass Housing", first published in 1961, is the manifesto and everyday forms of building). Pluralistic architecture.
starting point of this movement. The theme "Resident or user participation"
has been linked to Structuralism and Open building. The principle Structure and Coincidence remains relevant until now, both for
housing schemes and urban planning. For housing schemes the following
images were influential: the perspective drawing of the project "Fort
Theoretical Origins/Principles l'Empereur" in Algiers by Le Corbusier (1934) and the isometric drawing of
the housing scheme "Diagoon" in Delft by Herman Hertzberger(1971). At city
 Built structures corresponding in form to social structures, according level, important projects were: the Tokyo Bay Plan of Kenzo Tange (1960)
to Team 10 (Working group for the investigation of interrelationships and the fascinating images of the model of the Free University of Berlin
between social and built structures). by Candilis Josic & Woods (1963). Also, worth mentioning are the utopias
of Metabolism, Archigram and Yona Friedman. In general, instruments for
 The archetypical behaviour of man as the origin of architecture (cf. urban structuring are: traffic lines (e.g. gridiron plans), symmetries, squares,
Anthropology, Claude Lévi-Strauss). Different Rationalist architects had remarkable buildings, rivers, seashore, green areas, hills etc. These methods
contacts with groups of the Russian Avant-Garde after World War I. They were also used in previous cities.
believed in the idea that man and society could be manipulated.
The principle Aesthetics of Number proved to be less useful for structuring
an entire city. However, exemplary articulated configurations did arise, both
in architecture and housing schemes. The first influential images for this
direction Aldo van Eyck provided with aerial photos of his orphanage in
Amsterdam (1960). Later he built another inspiring configuration for the
 MUNICIPAL ORPHANAGE IN
AMSTERDAM
Space Centre Estec in Noordwijk (1989). These two compositions can be
counted among the most beautiful "icons" of structuralism.

Prominent Examples of Projects/Works Involving Structuralism

KASBAH HOUSING ESTATE IN

HENGELO,1973

THE C HILDREN'S MONUMENT YAD

VASHEM JERUSALEM, 2005

NAKAGIN CAPSULE TOWER IN TOKYO, PRIMARY STRUCTURE: TWO

TOWERS, SECONDARY ELEMENTS: CAPSULES, 1972