Ettore Sottsass

"Ettore Sottsass was born in 1917 and died in 2007.  He was an Italian architect and designer and his designs influenced many different designers."- Wikipedia (2014)


 In 1939, he graduated from the Politecnico Di Turin with a degree in architecture.  He served in the Italian military and after World War two he returned home and began his own architectural and design studio in Milan, Italy. In 1955, he was hired as a design consultant for Olivetti where he design office equipment.  Whilst working along Olivetti's son, he made his name as a designer.  Sottsass became famous for his ability to bring office furniture into Pop culture.


Ettore Sottsass, converted every day items into post modern furniture.  He did this by using striking, bold colours.  He also used harsh straight lines which made his work stand out even more.  "Being a consultant for Olivetti, he designed very memorable products."- Encyclopaedia Britannica 

Some critics at the time accused his works of being too "bold", however as his works and himself as a designer, became more and more popular, there were nothing but good comments.  People were fascinated at the simplicity yet 'fun' look of the products.


Some of his works were gathered for an exhibition.  The works in the exhibition represent "the critical period encompassing the late 1950's to the late 1960's, illustrating his evolution from commercial experimentation towards the establishment of and aesthetic credo that was resolved, defined , and invested with highly personal mythologies"- Christies Private Sales

What is Design? Why is it important?

"Design is that area of human experience , skill and knowledge which is concerned with man's ability to mould his environment according to his material needs"- Archer.B (1973)

"Everything is design. Everything!"- Paul Rand

"Design is a plan for arranging elements in such a way as best to accomplish a particular purpose "- Charles Eames


In my opinion design is a mix between science and art.  Designers create something using scientific principles whilst focusing on the aesthetic and functional elements of the product.  Without science a product will not be functional and without art the product won't be aesthetically pleasing to the eye.  There fore the two go hand in hand.  Having a holistic approach to a design project will enable all the elements to come together in a harmonious and practical way.  One of the most recent and important studies that designers are making use of is the study of Aerodynamics.  This study has helped many businesses grow.  This is the scientific part of the Streamlining Movement which became very popular in the 1930's.  This is a perfect example of how science and art come together.

The definition of design is very subjective.  There has never been one main definition and this allows many different approaches and philosophies toward the subject.  The term 'design' touches upon various different disciplines such as; Painting, furniture design, interior design, Architectural design, Fashion design and also engineering.

Design started from as early as 300,00 BC, where is was used as a means of decoration and communication.  As time passed, through different movements, design was used to re-invent cities in a more modern way.

Why is design important?

Today I think design is important for many reasons.  Firstly, it communicates a persons ideas to his or her audience.  For example, many artists painted paintings in order to express what they were feeling or to communicate what was happening.  Secondly, design is important because especially today, it attracts people to buy products.  Design is an important factor in the worlds economy.  Graphic design had now become an important part of many marketing strategies and marketing plans of different companies.  Another reason why design has become very important is because of sustainability.  Companies are always trying to come up with different products and one major task for designers is to create a design that does not hurt the environment or the inhabitance of that environment.  This has become a very important and costly factor.

Peter Behrens

Peter Behrens was a German architect and designer who lived between 1868 and 1940.  He was very important for the Modernist movement especially in the early years of his career.  Although his background was in Fine Arts, he moved to architecture in 1899.  This move was a major turning point in his life.  Behrens style of design is very serious.  His seriousness lead him to become the director of the kunstgewerberschule in Dusseldorf in 1903.  Behrens was also the founder of the Vereinigten Werkstatten in 1897.



Peter Behrens was one of the many architects that came together to create and work in the German Werkbund in 1907.  This was an organisation generated by ideas of the Arts and Crafts movement.  Their aim was to modify and improve everyday products without the use of excessive technology and mass production.  They promoted craftsmanship.

Behrens was very influenced by Japanese art.  As Schmutzler states, "Behrens earliest works in Jugendstil are ornament drawings like the delicate sketch of butterflies alighting on lily pads framed by rushes, and in this design his affinity with Japanese art is obvious."

Ornament Drawing 

Behrens house door

In 1899, Behrens together with the Darmstadt colony, designed his own house.  He created everything himself.  He designed porcelain table ware which followed the same design as the ceiling.  He also designed his front door which matched the whole design of his house.  Apart from this, he also got into graphic design where he created logos and advertisements for different companies.

'The Kiss'

Some of his Graphic Designs

Louis Kahn

Louis Kahn

louis kahn was an American architect who was based in Pennsylvania.  He was born in 1901 and died in 1971.

In 1935 Kahn found his own style in design.  In previous years he worked with several different firms in Philadelphia however he never really found his own style until he opened his own private practice.  Not only was he an architect, he was also a critic and a professor at the Yale School Of Architecture up until 1957.

From 1957 till his death he was also an architecture professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

Although Kahn was a Modernist, he presented a twist in his style.  He produced very heavy looking buildings and never tried to hide it.  He never tried to hide the materials he used or the way they were assembled.  Kahn was one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.

















Louis Kahn was know for his ability to fuse the international style with his own personal touch.  One of his most famous works which is still very famous today is the 'Jatiyo Sansad Bahban' in Bangladesh.  The building accommodate all Bangladesh's seven parliaments.

  Another famous work of his is the Yale University Art Gallery in Connecticut.  This project was built between 1951 and 1953.  To him, Modernism as a style lacked the monumental and spiritual qualities that older styles had.  In this way he wanted to transform modernity.  Historians believe that this was Kahn's way of changing modernity into a monumental style after the second world war.

With his designs Kahn sealed to create an emotional impact on those who viewed his architecture.  He did this by creating a sense of openness, space and light in his buildings.

Louis Kahn usually liked to use heavily textured brick in his designs which would then create a contrast with his sleek and smooth surfaces.  These surfaces included glass windows which were lined by steel.

“Kahn’s accomplishment was not the formal variation of elements as ends in themselves, but his constant ability to extract from this void means to express his belief in the institutions he was working for.”- Jeffry Kieffer, New York Architect.

Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe

Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe

 

Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe was a German architect who along with Le Corbusier, Alvar Aalto and Frank Lloyd Wright is said to be one of the leading architects of modern architecture.

After World War one Mies set out to create a new style that could represent Modern times.  Like Frank Lloyd Wright, he believed that a building must be a part of its surroundings and must fit the era its being built in just like the buildings of the Gothic Revival did.

To a certain point Mies created his own style of architecture which was governed my simplicity and clarity.  He made the most out of modern technology and used materials like steel and plate glass. (Information taken from Wikipedia.)

His first independent commission was the Riehl House, which he designed when he was just 20 years old.


Riehl House

Mies quickly grew in popularity and became very well- known and respected throughout Europe.  He was liked by many people for his innovative structures like the Barcelona pavilion which he designed for the Barcelona International Exposition of 1929.



The Barcelona Pavillion

The Barcelona pavilion was commissioned by the German government.  Mies used very sophisticated materials and flowing open plans which gave the design a sense of elegance. 

In 1930, he was named director of the Bauhaus, which was a well known school of experimental design.  However the school came to a close in 1933 due to the Nazi regime which created pressure on the school.

Burnham and Root, Sullivan and Adler, and William Le Baron Jenney where designers who formed part of the Armour institute and were practicing their designs over there.  It was founded in 1890.  During this time Chicago was emerging as a city famous for its architecture.  This generation of architects founded Chicago's first school of architecture and Mies Van Der Rohe founded the second.   A few years later the Armour institute recruited Mies as their new director and gave him the first task of 'Rationalizing the architecture curriculum'. 

Mies created a new approach to learning architecture.  He decided that students must first learn how to draw and then gain knowledge of the materials available and then finally learn the principles of architecture. 

The environment is meant to be lived in.  His buildings affecting our lives and endow them with beauty. His buildings encourage confidence, rationality, and elegance.  They have absolutely no ornamentation.  Mies' reductionist approach is as pertinent as ever.








"As we reduce the distractions and focus on the essential elements of our environment and ourselves, we find they are great, intricate, and beautiful. Less is more."

William Burges

William Burges was an English architect and designer who was born in 1827 and died in 1881.  He was considered to be one of the greatest Victorian art-architects. 

His aim as a designer was to move away for industrial and Neo-classic design and bring back a type of medieval England style.  For this reason he was considered to be one of the main artists of the Gothic Revival.  Burges took most of his influence from the Pre-Raphaelites and the Arts and Crafts movement.  His works are few in numbers when compared to other artists and designers , however they are very varied.

Burges most notable works are: 

Cardiff Castle

- the Cardiff Castle
- Castell Coch
- Gayhurst House
- Knightshays Court


Most of his designs today are completely original, in the sense that they have never been redesigned or altered.  They have also never been demolished.  Burges was not always successful.  He entered many competitions for cathedrals like the one at Lille and Colombo and lost them. 



William Burges did not only deal with architecture.  He also worked with metal, sculpture, jewelry and stained glass.  His work was many times greatly ignored however, the love for Victorian art, architecture and design has slowly been revived and in the later part of the 20th century, Burges' works have been better appreciated.

 





On the top left side we can see a picture of 19th century, Gothic Revival castle called Castell Coch.  The picture on the right and the picture on the bottom left sow the work Burges did for the interior of the building.  We can see his skill in working with stained glass and with sculpture.

 Burges's first major commission was the Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral, Cork.  The cathedral is very modest in size however it is very richly ornamented.  Burges drew designs for every sculpture in the building.  There were 1,260 sculptures.  He also drew sketches for the majority of the stained glass windows.  He also designed the mosaic pavement, the altar, the pulpit and the bishops throne. (Information taken from Wikipedia).

 These pictures show the inside and outside of the cathedral that Burges was commissioned to design.

Antoni Gaudi

Antoni Gaudi

Antoni Gaudi (1852 - 1926) was an architect from Spain who played a very important role in Catalan Modernism.  His works were usually marked by his passions in life and most of them can be found in Barcelona. 

Some of his works include his Magnum Opus and Sagrada Familia.  Gaudi was very diverse in skill.  He worked with many different materials like ceramics and stained glass.  Gaudi was extremely influenced by Neo-Gothic art. 







Gaudi's first project was to design the lampposts for Placa Reial in Barcelona and the unfinished Grossi newsstands.  He gained a lot of recognition when he was commissioned for the Casa Vicens.  In 1883 Gaudi was commissioned to build Barcelona a cathedral called the Sagrada Familia.  He changed the initial designs for the cathedral to his own designs.


La Sagrada Familia

For the 1888 World Fair, Gaudi presented a building that he designed for the Transatlantic company which led him to receive commissions from people and companies which were not only based in Spain but in many other European countries. (Information taken from http://www.tiendashop.com/copasgaudiTextIng.html)

At the beginning of the century, Gaudi began to shift to a more personal style. in 1900, Gaudi received an award for the best building of the year for his Casa Calvet.  Although most of his works and projects have been extremely successful, there have been some which were not and were stopped half way through.  For example, Park Guell which was an unsuccessful urbanization project.




Lamppost for Placa Reial

Gaudi was very inspired by the oriental arts.  He studied designers like John Ruskin and William Morris and was greatly influenced by them.  This influence can be seen in many of his works like in his Casa Vicens.