La Grande Arche Review

My trip to Paris in summer of 9^th grade was definitely one of the most memorable times of my life. Since my passion for architecture and the arts started only a few months before that, Paris was definitely a different city. There were definitely many parts of Paris I loved but nothing could beat the Architecture of La Defense. La Defense located in the outer part of Paris has one structure, La Grande Arche which has an abstract shape which I had never been in. The outer structure is an empty square with an elevator on the interior walls in between of the two sides. The elevator gave such a different view from the inside since it was completely transparent. It almost felt like what I would imagine being in a plastic straw would feel like.                                                                                                                                     The building sides contained such smooth design and breathtaking patterns. For example, the canopy had a different view from the different angles. From the top it looks like a contorted checker board while from the normal view it looks just like a canopy.

 The exterior was no doubt flawless but the interior in my opinion lacked the same excitement. The computer museum on one floor had amazing an amazing gallery but the poor lighting and bare cement floor definitely took away. The next level contained office rooms that had that, “office room” feel. All in all, I felt that this was an outstanding structure with eye catching details. If you ever have the opportunity to visit Paris, don’t forget to stop by La Grand Arche. The elevator trip is about 6-8 euro which is pretty expensive for a ride up and down but nonetheless it is worth the magnificent view.

Doha's Architectural Transition

Doha, a city in Qatar has a booming economy. This would probably explain the reason why so many new structures are popping up around the city. It’s interesting to see such modernity in a place like Qatar where people usually believe it’s not common. This is far from the truth. Doha is becoming a common travel destination place for people who want to visit a different country but still have the western feel. Being the largest city in Qatar, Doha is quickly developing into one of the Middle East’s most advanced city. There are two major zones in Doha, The Pearl and West Bay. Altogether there are around a hundred new buildings throughout these two zones.                                                                                                        

Although most of them are commercial and industrial, a few seem to be residential with really high going rates. The most magnificent of the hotels are either Shangri-La or The Rotana Hotel, both located relatively close to the center of Doha. The Al-Fadan residential towers are actually the tallest structure in The Pearl zone. Architects in Doha are surprisingly moving completely away from “conservative” architecture and diving right in to modern architectural concepts.                                         

In my opinion, there are many countries that are changing by divulging away from their cultural architecture. Some countries such as China have been changing since the early 20^th century. Doha has been changing since the late eighties but the amount of change architecturally has been much more for the last five to seven years. If you ever want to visit a modern Middle East city, do not miss out on Doha, Qatar. 

Night View of Doha's Skyline

Frank Lloyd Wright: The “Father” of modern architecture

Modern Architecture would not be what it is today if Frank Lloyd Wright never existed. A much more famous person than many other modern architects today, Frank Lloyd Wright is one of the “founding fathers” of modern Architecture. Having one of the longest careers, spanning 70 years, he had designed countless of buildings throughout the United States. It was his passion and willingness to try out different styles and use different technologies which were new at that time. His remarkable journey began years before 1893 but this is the date when he opened his own firm.                                                              

Wright has had countless works but for people who are not too familiar with him, his most famous are the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, Falling Water in Bear Run, Pennsylvania, and the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. Wright is known for a more subtle style including low hanging ceilings, more “open” rooms meaning fewer doors between rooms and many windows. By doing all of this, he wanted to the nature outside to compliment the interior of the house. This style was so unique, at that time it had its own name “prairie architecture.” Lloyd was also a very considerate man. He mainly designed homes for middle class people and worked with technology and labor that was cheaper than what was normally used. He moved on to bigger structures later on in his life building government buildings, complexes and museums all over the United States.  Frank Lloyd Wright paved the way for modern architecture and rightly deserves the fame he has.

Jaime Lerner: A pioneer in Architecture

                      Modern Architecture had opened its doors to sustainability of environment but no one had taken advantage of this until recently. Brazilian architect Jaime Lerner, did more than just design and build environmentally friendly structures. He, in fact has taken into his wing a whole city trying to improve it as much as possible. He calls it Urban Acupuncture. Curitiba, Brazil is now one of the fastest growing (environmentally speaking) cities in Brazil. The reason that this could be is due to the fact that Mr. Lerner served three terms as the mayor. He helped create jobs by providing work in recycle factories and positions of bus drivers for the more frequented bus route. In addition, his ways of teaching the children in the impoverished areas how to dispose of trash or even providing incentives for recycling is pretty impressive.                                                         

                   What makes Mr. Lerner so extraordinary is that he doesn’t even have a political background. By doing things which many mayors won’t even try to attempt, Mr. Lerner is a textbook definition of a humanitarian.  As if Mayor wasn’t enough, he soon became governor and became an even larger urban designer. His ideas, such as creating more bike routes are so unique and profound, both Bogota and Seoul have adopted such strategies. To see an architect go to such a different path is not uncommon but when it comes to taking charge of a whole city, it is rare to find people like Lerner. 

The Hanoi Museum, Hanoi, Vietnam by German architectural firm GMP

Introduction to Modern Architecture

                           When I travel to cities with rich cultural backgrounds, it is interesting to observe the constant clash between the past and the future. There are many ways to see this but three of the key ways are food, fashion styles, and architecture. In fact inadvertently, it’s possible that your mind views skyscrapers and huge modern structures, as a sign of change from old to new. Modernity is a concept that is hard to grasp. At times it can be that futuristic, technological house you imagine the Jetson’s would live in. Surprisingly, modernity in the architectural world is mainly the simplification of structures, giving it the more simple structural shape.                                                                                                           But these are far from dull. The visual strength of these structures or in other words, what they “say” is truly amazing. Still confused? It’s understandable since modernism in art has a wide variety of definitions. The easiest to understand is the idea of setting aside traditional views and going with experimentation or making a statement. This is also the case of architecture. As you will see in many of the photos and pre-sketches, there is a growing trend of asymmetrical work. This goes against the usual symmetric aesthetically pleasing architecture the earlier civilizations were known for.                          
                    One example of the first and still the most famous modern structures of this era in the United States is New York’s Museum of Modern Art or MOMA, providing not only modernism with its pieces but also the building as a whole. This blog will help give you a clearer idea of modernism especially in architecture.

30 St. Mary Axe, London UK

San Francisco's Russian Hill Residence by Justin Maniscalco