London Modern Architecture – Lloyd’s Building (1986)
Richard Rogers’ Lloyd’s building is a breath of fresh air in a city full of concrete commercial office blocks. The daring design places the stairs, elevators, power cables, air ducts and water pipes on the exterior, creating a clean uncluttered working space inside the tower. The services, things that other buildings try to conceal, thus proudly ornament the outside of the Lloyd’s building, creating its unique look.
The Lloyd’s building is located at 1 Lime Street and although not regularly open to the public the office does open each year as part of London Open House, when it’s free to visit.

London Modern Architecture – London Eye (1999)
Similarly to the Eiffel Tower, in Paris, the London Eye was originally intended only to be a temporary construction. However, due to its immense popularity, much like the Eiffel Tower, the wheel has become a permanent landmark, an instantly recognizable symbol of the city.
The Eye is located on the south bank of the River Thames opposite the houses of parliament. It is currently the most visited paid tourist attraction in country and the 30-minute ride will cost £17.50.

London Modern Architecture – 30 St Mary Axe: The Gherkin (2004)
30 St Mary Axe, affectionately known as The Gherkin (the British word for a pickle) due to its shape, is a welcome addition to the city skyline. This visually striking postmodern tower is an extremely good example of how modern architecture can enhance its local environment. The building is appreciated by both the public and professionals alike and won its architect, Sir Norman Foster, Britain’s most prestigious architectural award, the RIBA Stirling Prize.
Located, unsurprisingly, at 30 St Mary Axe, The Gherkin is only open to the public once a year as part of London Open House.

As the population of Singapore is drawn from many ethnic origins, and the island has been ruled by a succession of foreign powers, the country has struggled to find its identity since gaining independence in 1965. First the city’s banks and then the government have actively aimed to develop high-quality landmark buildings with the aim of not only defining a sense of national identity, but also to boosting business and tourism. For this reason the city is full of high quality architecture.

Singapore’s Modern Architecture: Skyscrapers
In the late seventies and eighties Singapore’s businesses and hotels drew attention to themselves by constructing high-quality skyscrapers. The city became synonymous with the high-rise as buildings by some of the world’s leading architects, including Pritzker Prize winners, I.M. Pei and Kenzo Tange, rose in the city. In 1986 Singapore was the focus of the world’s attention, as the 280-meter Overseas Union Bank Centre became the tallest building outside of North America. This building would start a trend as Asian cities constructed higher and higher buildings.

First Kuala Lumpur (Petronas Towers), then Taipei (Taipei 101) and most recently Dubai (Burj Dubai) have all constructed visually interesting “world’s tallest”, skyscrapers that have focused the world’s attention on the host city. However, Singapore’s could not follow this route due to a height restriction imposed by the downtown’s proximity to the airport.

Singapore’s Modern Architecture: Municipal Buildings
Denied the chance to increase it’s exposure through the construction of the “world’s tallest building”, Singapore has tried to find other ways to distinguish itself and increase people’s awareness of the city through its architecture. City officials knew this could be achieved by creating an iconic landmark building, an Eiffel Tower or a Sydney Opera House, which would become synonymous with the city’s prosperity.

Since the beginning of the millennium three extremely high quality municipal buildings designed by internationally famous architects have been constructed in the city. First Michael Wilford and DP Architects’ Esplanade Theatre in 2002, followed by T.R. Hamzah & Yeang’s National Library of Singapore in 2005, and most recently Stirling Prize winner Norman Foster’s Supreme Law Court of Singapore in 2006. All three are examples of excellent modern architecture that Singapore can be proud of.

These buildings, and the recently completed Singapore Flyer, (which like the London Eye has become a major attraction) have drawn business and tourists to the city, however, although each building is a striking and successful addition to the city none has become the iconic symbol of Singapore.

When I was touring northern Italy and Spain I was struck by the timeless beauty of wrought-ironworks, fashioned out of the architecture of the buildings and into the garden trellises. It was not so much the ornate details that I found so interesting as I found the strength and durability of the material to be: it tested time, only growing more attractive. Later, back in the U.S.A. and practicing my profession as a Landscape Architect I found that wrought-iron was not often affordable except in only the most selective of projects (i.e. those with very, fat budgets).
I did design my share of wooden and hollow-tube trellises over the years but I was always looking for a material that would capture the essence of wrought-iron and at an affordable price. That is when I began experimenting with REBAR (reinforced iron for concrete building footings).

Rebar comes in a variety of diameters and surface patterns, usually in 20 foot lengths. It is the ‘poor cousin’ of construction-metals exclusively finding its’ way into concrete pours to reinforce the structural value of footings, walls and flat surfaces. I have not seen it utilized for much else.

There are quite a few good reasons why rebar works well as a trellis building material. Personally, I like the way it looks, it reminds me of Sahuaro Ribs and Ocotillo sticks used in the Southwest. It also takes on the look of knotty pine poles as well. Part of its attraction is that the knobby surface catches the light in a play of shadows throughout the day (and also in the nightime with directed, accent lighting).

Rebar does not have to be treated or painted; it looks best in its natural state of surface rust. It can, however, stain tile or fabric beneath it. In a rainy climate it is a good idea to spray a mat-sealer over those areas that may drip. Most landscape surfaces, however, are durable enough to handle these occasional drips. On one occasion we had the rebar elements, powder-coated with bright colors to go with the festive character of the project (powder coating is baked-on paint, like on a automobile). I do not recommend this treatment because of its expense but it does have its uses.

Although rebar does not sculpt well as wrought iron will, it can be bent within certain limits. In fact, the bending of the rebar can be best taken care of at the rebar yard itself, (look under rebar suppliers in the yellow pages). They receive

specifications from building contractors for all sorts or shapes and configurations to accommodate their building footings etc. They usually raise an eyebrow to such requests eg. rebar stock bent for a trellis, but more often than not they get into the spirit of the project and appreciate the change of pace.

I once designed and built a rebar trellis that we named “Double-Helix”, a vine trellis; the curve linear shapes of the trellis’s roof-line created a shadow of a double helix on the ground. You also saw the double helix form when walking by the trellis. Naturally, you can build a rebar trellis out of straight pieces of rod as well and eliminate the bending. A really nice look is to use different diameter rebar sticks and place them alongside one another in a descending pattern. They can also be cut to different lengths and also be placed in a descending pattern. It is really up to your imagination or that of your designer and landscape contractor.

Some of the ’straight-rod’ rebar trellises that we have designed and built were topped with another interesting material i.e. sheets of reinforced, metal used to reinforce concrete driveways. These sheets generally come in 7 foot widths and vary in lengths, of about 10 feet. Their box pattern is usually in 4 inch squares; this allows for plenty of air flow and a chance for the vines to trail throughout the webbing.

Lastly, anchoring a rebar trellis to the ground is quite simple. Basically all you need to do is to dig a 2 foot or better deep hole, set the rebar leg into it and pour your concrete mixture around it. You can also integrate all or part of the trellis’s legs into a patio wall, if the overall architectural design of the house and garden will benefit from this application. Naturally, have your construction details reviewed by your licensed landscape contractor.

The exact characteristics and origins of Modern architecture are still open to interpretation and debate.

Some historians see the evolution of Modern architecture as a social matter, closely tied to the project of Modernity and hence to the Enlightenment, a result of social and political revolutions.

Others see Modern architecture as primarily driven by technological and engineering developments, and it is true that the availability of new building materials such as iron, steel, concrete and glass drove the invention of new building techniques as part of the Industrial Revolution. In 1796, Shrewsbury mill owner Charles Bage first used his ‘fireproof’ design, which relied on cast iron and brick with flag stone floors. Such construction greatly strengthened the structure of mills, which enabled them to accommodate much bigger machines. Due to poor knowledge of iron’s properties as a construction material, a number of early mills collapsed. It was not until the early 1830s that Eaton Hodgkinson introduced the section beam, leading to widespread use of iron construction, this kind of austere industrial architecture utterly transformed the landscape of northern Britain, leading to the description, “Dark satanic mills” of places like Manchester and parts of West Yorkshire. The Crystal Palace by Joseph Paxton at the Great Exhibition of 1851 was an early example of iron and glass construction; possibly the best example is the development of the tall steel skyscraper in Chicago around 1890 by William Le Baron Jenney and Louis Sullivan. Early structures to employ concrete as the chief means of architectural expression (rather than for purely utilitarian structure) include Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unity Temple, built in 1906 near Chicago, and Rudolf Steiner’s Second Goetheanum, built from 1926 near Basel, Switzerland.

Other historians regard Modernism as a matter of taste, a reaction against eclecticism and the lavish stylistic excesses of Victorian Era and Edwardian Art Nouveau.
Whatever the cause, around 1900 a number of architects around the world began developing new architectural solutions to integrate traditional precedents (Gothic, for instance) with new technological possibilities. The work of Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright in Chicago, Victor Horta in Brussels, Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona, Otto Wagner in Vienna and Charles Rennie Mackintosh in Glasgow, among many others, can be seen as a common struggle between old and new.

Modernism as dominant style
By the 1920s the most important figures in Modern architecture had established their reputations. The big three are commonly recognized as Le Corbusier in France, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius in Germany. Mies van der Rohe and Gropius were both directors of the Bauhaus, one of a number of European schools and associations concerned with reconciling craft tradition and industrial technology.
Frank Lloyd Wright’s career parallels and influences the work of the European modernists, particularly via the Wasmuth Portfolio, but he refused to be categorized with them. Wright was a major influence on both Gropius and van der Rohe, however, as well as on the whole of organic architecture.

In 1932 came the important MOMA exhibition, the International Exhibition of Modern Architecture, curated by Philip Johnson. Johnson and collaborator Henry-Russell Hitchcock drew together many distinct threads and trends, identified them as stylistically similar and having a common purpose, and consolidated them into the International Style.
This was an important turning point. With World War II the important figures of the Bauhaus fled to the United States, to Chicago, to the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and to Black Mountain College. While Modern architectural design never became a dominant style in single-dwelling residential buildings, in institutional and commercial architecture Modernism became the pre-eminent, and in the schools (for leaders of the profession) the only acceptable, design solution from about 1932 to about 1984.

Architects who worked in the international style wanted to break with architectural tradition and design simple, unornamented buildings. The most commonly used materials are glass for the facade, steel for exterior support, and concrete for the floors and interior supports; floor plans were functional and logical. The style became most evident in the design of skyscrapers. Perhaps its most famous manifestations include the United Nations headquarters (Le Corbusier, Oscar Niemeyer, Sir Howard Robertson), the Seagram Building (Ludwig Mies van der Rohe), and Lever House (Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill), all in New York. A prominent residential example is the Lovell House (Richard Neutra) in Los Angeles.

Detractors of the international style claim that its stark, uncompromisingly rectangular geometry is dehumanising. Le Corbusier once described buildings as “machines for living”, but people are not machines and it was suggested that they do not want to live in machines. Even Philip Johnson admitted he was “bored with the box.” Since the early 1980s many architects have deliberately sought to move away from rectilinear designs, towards more eclectic styles. During the middle of the century, some architects began experimenting in organic forms that they felt were more human and accessible. Mid-century modernism, or organic modernism, was very popular, due to its democratic and playful nature. Alvar Aalto and Eero Saarinen were two of the most prolific architects and designers in this movement, which has influenced contemporary modernism.

Although there is debate as to when and why the decline of the modern movement occurred, criticism of Modern architecture began in the 1960s on the grounds that it was universal, sterile, elitist and lacked meaning. Its approach had become ossified in a “style” that threatened to degenerate into a set of mannerisms. Siegfried Giedion in the 1961 introduction to his evolving text, Space, Time and Architecture (first written in 1941), could begin “At the moment a certain confusion exists in contemporary architecture, as in painting; a kind of pause, even a kind of exhaustion.” At the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a 1961 symposium discussed the question “Modern Architecture: Death or Metamorphosis?” In New York, the coup d’état appeared to materialize in controversy around the Pan Am Building that loomed over Grand Central Station, taking advantage of the modernist real estate concept of “air rights”, In criticism by Ada Louise Huxtable and Douglas Haskell it was seen to “sever” the Park Avenue streetscape and “tarnish” the reputations of its consortium of architects: Walter Gropius, Pietro Belluschi and the builders Emery Roth & Sons. The rise of postmodernism was attributed to disenchantment with Modern architecture. By the 1980s, postmodern architecture appeared triumphant over modernism, including the temple of the Light of the World, a futuristic design for its time Guadalajara Jalisco La Luz del Mundo Sede International; however, postmodern aesthetics lacked traction and by the mid-1990s, a neo-modern (or hypermodern) architecture had once again established international pre-eminence. As part of this revival, much of the criticism of the modernists has been revisited, refuted, and re-evaluated; and a modernistic idiom once again dominates in institutional and commercial contemporary practice, but must now compete with the revival of traditional architectural design in commercial and institutional architecture; residential design continues to be dominated by a traditional aesthetic.

Characteristics
Modern architecture is usually characterized by:
• a rejection of historical styles as a source of architectural form (historicism)
• an adoption of the principle that the materials and functional requirements determine the result
• an adoption of the machine aesthetic
• a rejection of ornament
• a simplification of form and elimination of “unnecessary detail”
• an adoption of expressed structure
• Form follows function

Italy’s Romanesque architecture (12th cent.) reveals the first use of the groined vault with projecting ribs. It is also typified by the development of a type of basilica having side galleries. The style was especially pronounced in Lombardy and is superbly exemplified in Sant’ Ambrogio, Milan. There are two regional forms of Italian Romanesque—Tuscan (including Florentine) and southern. The cathedral of Pisa (1063-1118), with its campanile (the “leaning tower” ), admirably displays the Tuscan characteristics, chief of which is the decorative use of tier upon tier of columns. Tuscan architects of the period also made a specialty of using variegated marbles and followed the antique style in this rather closely. The Romanesque of the south, as in the cathedral of Monreale, is characterized by its rich mosaics and delicate carvings, which show Byzantine, Saracenic, and Norman influences.

Gothic Influences

Gothic architecture was not greatly developed in Italy; a notable exception is the cathedral of Milan, built in part by foreign architects. The Church of St. Francis in Assisi (begun 1228) and the cathedral at Siena (begun 1269), among others, also have Gothic elements—the ribbed vault and the pointed arch (see Gothic architecture and art ). However, the Italians largely adhered to the native tradition of building in terms of simple basilican proportions with massive walls, a practice that was carried into the Renaissance.

The Renaissance

In the 15th cent. a conscious revival of classical antiquity began (see Renaissance art and architecture ). Brunelleschi emulated the ancient Romans in his masterly construction (1420-34) of the dome of the Florentine cathedral, and Michelozzo used antique elements in the courtyard of the Medici Palace, Florence (begun 1444). Alberti borrowed freely from a Roman triumphal arch in his design (1450s) for the exterior of the Tempio Malatestiano in Rimini. Bramante, Antonio da Sangallo, Peruzzi, and Raphael made Rome the center of spectacular architectural developments in the first half of the 16th cent., when St. Peter’s was the most important project under way. Vignola did significant work in Rome in the latter part of the 16th cent., while in N Italy the formal classicism of Palladio was a potent factor in the spreading of Renaissance architecture throughout Europe. The monumental work of Michelangelo reflected elements of mannerism and his influence extended into the baroque period.

The Baroque

The beginning of the 17th cent. ushered in the drama of the baroque era with Maderno’s nave and facade for St. Peter’s, to which a magnificent colonnaded plaza was added, designed by Bernini, the foremost genius of the period. Other outstanding architects of the century included Borromini, Cortona, and Rainaldi. After their deaths, Carlo Fontana became the most influential architect in Italy, transmitting the ideas of the great baroque masters to many of the most important architects of Europe. Italy, however, no longer possessed the undisputed leadership in European architecture, although in the 18th cent. Piedmont in N Italy produced remarkable designers, such as Guarini, Juvarra, and Vittone.

The Modern Era

Nineteenth-century Italian architecture, such as Giuseppe Sacconi’s Victor Emmanuel monument, shows a decline in quality and increased pomposity. In the 20th cent. Italy has followed the trends of modern architecture ; its outstanding practitioners include Pier Luigi Nervi , Giuseppe Terragni, Gio Ponti, and Renzo Piano.