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Top ten monuments in modern architecture

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OutlineIntroduction

Part I. Modern Architecture

Part II. Top ten

Conclusion

References

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Introduction

As the 20th century began modern architects believed it was necessary to invent an architecture that expressed the spirit of a new age and would surpass the styles, materials, and technologies of earlier architecture

Their aesthetic celebrated function in all forms of design, household furnishings, ocean liners and new flying machines

Modern architecture also challenged traditional ideas about the types of structures suitable for architectural design

Important civic buildings, aristocratic palaces, churches, and public institutions had long been the mainstay of architectural practices, but modernist designers argued that architects should design all that was necessary for society, even the most humble buildings

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Part I. Modern architectureModern Architecture, the buildings and building practices of the late 19th and the 20th centuriesModern architects reacted against the architecture of the 19th century, which they felt borrowed too heavily from the past Italian architect Antonio Sant'Elia resoundingly rejected traditional architecture in his Futurist Manifesto of 1914 (Futurism)He called for each generation to build its houses anew and celebrated glass, steel, and concrete as the materials to make this possibleIn the United States Frank Lloyd Wright also rejected 19th-century European architecture

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Part I. Modern architectureDevelopments in two materials—iron and concrete—formed the technological basis for much modern architectureSteel for construction also became abundantly available in the 19th centuryIn 1892 French engineer François Hennebique combined the strengths of both in a new system of construction based on concrete reinforced with steelHis invention made possible previously unimaginable effects: extremely thin walls with large areas of glass Architects in Chicago, Illinois, were the first to exploit the possibilities offered by the elevator in combination with the new steel and concrete technologies

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Part I. Modern architectureThe collective response of a diverse group of architects to the reconstruction of the city led to the development of the skyscraperArchitect William Le Baron Jenney devised a solution to the problem of fireproof construction for tall buildings by substituting steel in the structural system for cast ironArt Nouveau, which flourished in Europe between 1890 and 1910, was one of the earliest (and shortest-lived) efforts to develop an original style for the modern ageIn the three centers of art nouveau—Barcelona, Spain; Brussels, Belgium; and Paris, France—architects struggled to define a style with distinctly local characteristics

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Part II. Top ten

Here are presented 10 of the most famous monuments and buildings of the 20th century in the West

Tower Bridge in London, La Defense and Pompidou Center in Paris, Sidney Opera House in Australia, the Golden Gate in San Francisco, the Empire State Building in New York, the Glass pyramid of the Louvre, the Arch in Saint Louis, Brasilia and the CN Tower in Toronto

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Tower BridgeBuilt between 1886 and 1894, bridge on the Thames River in London, near the Tower of London, one of the city's principal landmarksIt was the only movable bridge crossing the Thames when it was completed in 1894. Sir Horace Jones designed the bridge, and Sir John Wolfe Barry built it150,000 vehicles cross it every day. Over 900 times a year the roadway parts and lifts to let tall ships, cruise liners and other large craft pass throught was a hydraulically operated bridge, using steam to power the enormous pumping engines; since 1976 they have been driven by oil and electricity rather than steam

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La DéfenseModern architectural development to the west of central Paris, the largest concentration of tall buildings in Europe

Begun in 1958, the complex consists predominantly of office buildings

Dominating La Défense is the futuristic Grande Arche, completed in 1989, by Danish architect Johann Otto von Spreckelsen

An office tower in the shape of an enormous open cube 105 m on a side, it echoes in modern language the shape of (and is exactly the same width as) the famous Arc de Triomphe with which it is visibly aligned

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The Centre National d'Art Pompidou Museum located in the Beaubourg district of Paris

President Georges Pompidou conceived (1969) the idea

Completed (1978) by the architects Renzo Piano of Italy and Richard Rogers of England and by the engineering firm of Ove Arup and Partners of England

External mechanical systems elevators painted red; escalators in clear plastic tunnels; and giant tubes for air (painted blue), water (green), and electricity (yellow)

The Center houses the National Museum of Modern Art, attracts 25,000 visitors a day and a library

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Sydney Opera House Major performing arts center on the harbor in Sydney, Australia, regarded as the finest modern building in the country; completed 1973

Designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, who won an international competition for the project in 1956

Distinctive sail-shaped towers were pronounced unbuildable by a British engineering firm, redesigned at a lower angle

Utzon then resigned from the project, and the building was completed by the engineering firm in 1973

Concert hall, theater for opera and ballet, smaller theater for plays, recording hall and rehearsal rooms, and movie theater

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Golden Gate Strait in western California, at the entrance to San Francisco Bay, separating the bay from the Pacific OceanThe strait is 8 km long and narrows to 1 km in widthThe bridge crosses the strait to connect San Francisco, on the south, with Marin County, on the northThe American explorer John Charles Frémont gave the strait the name Golden Gate in 1846Bridge conceived by Joseph Strauss, assisted by Irving morrow; inauguration in 1937; painted in orange internationalThe Golden Gate National Recreation Area, established in 1972 by the National Park Service, extends north and south of the Golden Gate and also includes Alcatraz

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Empire State Building New York City, skyscraper located on 5th AvenueTallest building in the world when completed in 1931 (381 m)Because of its elegant stepped design it is often still regarded as the ultimate American skyscraperDesigned by the American architectural firm of Shreve, Lamb & Harmon in a streamlined art deco style, the Empire State Building consists of 102 stories of office spaceA radio and television mast that was added in 1951A model of the building was used in the 1933 version of the motion picture King Kong, in the sequence in which the giant ape clings to its upper stories while fighting off squadrons of fighter planes

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Glass pyramid of the Louvre The Louvre, until 1682 a residence of the kings of France, occupies the site of a 13th-century fortress

In 1793 opened as a public museum, and the French painter David was appointed head of a commission to administer it

Controversial glass pyramid (completed in 1989) at the entrance to the Louvre, a museum in Paris

New visitor entrance to the Louvre museum complex, built by Ieoh Ming Pei, born in Canton, China in 1917

Noted for his unique arrangements of geometric shapes, Pei also earned a reputation for his creative use of space, surfaces, and materials

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St. Louis City in eastern Missouri, extending along the west bank of the Mississippi River

St. Louis is one of the Midwest's principal industrial, commercial, educational, and cultural centers

St. Louis was established in 1764 by French fur traders and named in honor of Louis IX, a 13th-century king of France canonized as a saint

The spectacular Gateway Arch stands at the river's edge on the site where St. Louis was founded more than two centuries ago

The 192-m (630-ft) high city landmark, completed in 1965

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BrasiliaIn the 1950s Brazilian architects had an opportunity to showcase their designs in an entirely new capital cityBrasília developed as a planned city, constructed (beginning in 1957) on an uninhabited site to replace crowded Rio de Janeiro as the national capital Planned by Costa and filled with buildings by Niemeyer, the city of Brasilia was a lavish testimony to Le Corbusier’s principles of modern architecture and planningCosta divided residential zones by class, designated a monumental government and business centerThe Catedral Metropolitana is one of several buildings designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer in the 1960s for the Brazilian capital

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CN TowerAt a height of 553.33m, it is the World's Tallest Building, an important telecommunications hub, and the centre of tourism in Toronto

Each year, approximately 2 million people visit the CN Tower

The CN Tower was built in 1976 by Canadian National (CN) who wanted to demonstrate the strength of Canadian industry by building a tower taller than any other in the world

With its microwave receptors at 338 m and 553.33m antenna, the CN Tower swiftly solved the communication problems

Dining restaurant is located at 351 m and offers guests a complete 360 degree view of the city

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ConclusionDeconstructivist architects in the 1980s applied their analytical, abstract ideas to the design of buildings Their work points toward an architecture that focuses less on debates among competing movements and more on buildings that are economical, environmentally responsible, and beautifulIn Asia, new and taller buildings have been built, especially in Malaysia (the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur) and in China (Hong Kong and Shanghai)Completed in 1998, the Petronas Towers, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, are the world's tallest buildings. Each tower stands 452 m (1,483 ft) tall

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References

http://www.cntower.ca/faqs/l3_faq_coolstuff_photogallery.htm

http://www.webshots.com/search/search.fcgi?words=pompidou&new=1&source=cotopic

http://www.louvre.fr/louvrea.htm

http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/RefArticle.aspx?refid=761595616

http://www.towerbridge.org.uk/

http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Tower_Bridge.html

http://www.architectureweek.com/today.html