Organic architecture

1. ARCHITECTURE NIC

2. ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE 1INTRODUCTION Organic architecture is a Philosophy of architecture which promotes harmony between human habitation and the natural world through design approaches so sympathetic and well integrated with its site, that buildings, furnishings, and surroundings become part of a unified, interrelated composition. Organic architecture is more of a way of living than a tangible thing. It involves respecting the properties of surrounding natural materials, understanding the function of the building, and making them work together with the building site in a harmonious way. One famous example is of Wright rejecting the idea of making a bank look like a Greek temple.

3. ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE 2 Frank lloyd wright incorporated the term "organic" into his architectural philosophy in about 1908. Although the word ‘organic’ in common usage refers to something which has the characteristics of animals or plants, frank lloyd wright’s organic architecture takes on a new meaning. It is not a style of imitation, because he did not claim to be building forms which were representative of nature. Instead, organic architecture is a reinterpretation of nature’s principles as they had been filtered through the intelligent minds of men and women who could then build forms which are more natural than nature itself. ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE ; • Promotes harmony between man-made structure and the nature • It is achieved by integrating the buildings and surroundings. • Main objective is to cause no harm to the nature through our design • Every structure is unique & unrepeatable. • Organic architecture began its great modern journey in U.S.A • Inspired by the proverb “Form follows function” - Architect Louis Sullivan • Outward appearances resemble inner purposes“ • Organic architecture not only addresses environmental concerns but also expresses individuality INTRODUCTION

4. ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE 3ORIGINS OF ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE • Organic architecture emerged in different countries at the beginning of the 20th century. The externalization of form in the neo-styles fired many architects of that period to create a new style of architecture. • The concept of organic architecture was born from different styles such as art Nouveau, Functionalism, and Constructivism. The pioneers of this direction drew inspiration from principles derived from living nature. Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926) was one of the first architects to express himself in sculptural form. These forms were often based on the forces at play in the construction. During the last phase of his life he developed a natural geometry of double curved surfaces that he applied in the church of the Sagrada Familia. Louis Sullivan (1856-1924) He was one of the first to introduce the concept of ‘organic architecture’. After closely studying nature, he concluded that form always follows function and made this principle the guideline for his architectural designs. Moreover, he brought his geometrical building masses to life by means of a rich, organic ornamentation Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) Introduced in architecture the principle of ‘metamorphosis’ that he Derived from Goethe. This enabled him to express development Processes that are inherent to nature, culture and the human consciousness. By contemplating these forms an awareness for interrelations and the ability to think in processes can be developed Frank Lloyd Wright (1869-1959) Broadened both the content and the language of organic architecture in many directions. He expanded the concept ‘organic’ to denote the relation between the building and its environment, the continuity of internal and external space and the use of building materials in accordance with their own nature.

5. ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE 4 CHARACTERSTIC FEATURES • Simplicity -Organic architecture is simple because its scheme and design are clear. • Nature-The creative possibilities of form, color, pattern, texture, proportion and rhythm are all demonstrated in nature. Organic architecture does not imitate nature but is concerned with natural materials, the site, and the people who will occupy the buildings. • Building and Site-The two have a very special relationship in organic architecture. The building grows out of the landscape as naturally as any plant; its relationship to the site is so unique that it would be out of place elsewhere. • Proportion and Scale- The human body should be the measure of a building and its furnishings. Ornament- These are an integral part of the building: they are not added on, stuck in or unduly exposed. Sculpture and painting have to become elements of the total design. As much furniture as possible should be built-in. Shelter- A building should convey a sense of protection against the elements. Its inhabitants should never lack privacy or feel exposed and unprotected. Tranquility- Space- Quiet, serene, tranquil space is a fitting environment for human growth. It is achieved by simple architectural masses that reflect the uncluttered spaces within. Mechanical Systems and Furnishings- These are used simply in a way that enhances their innate character and optimizes their individual color, texture, and strength Uses of curves as signature: To differentiate organic architecture from the other branches of architecture that also plays on the interpretation of nature.

6. ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE 5 Technology integration: technical system is required to connect human need and natural capability. Local craft and human resources: needs professional on particular place. Design process and integration: It must have inception of project via owner, community, city planner… cultural and historic connection: making sense of place by creating connection between the people and environment. Although these are not all of the principles of organic architecture, they outline the general philosophy. Organic design aims to include them, but not even Frank Lloyd Wright achieved them totally in each of his buildings. As Wright himself wrote, “The complete goal of the ideal of organic architecture is never reached. Nor need be. What worthwhile ideal is ever reached? CHARACTERSTIC FEATURES Materials-Not all organic architecture has it, but when used, it is developed as an integral part of the material, not applied. Examples are patterns cast in concrete or carved in stone, leaded glass panels, and tile or glass mosaics. Inter linkage of exterior and interior spaces- we don’t see ourselves in a totally different and new environment when we step into an organic building because of the linkage with the exterior.

7. ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE 6FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT (1869-1959) • Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer, educator, and philosopher. • , Wright was recognized in 1991 by the American Institute of Architects as “the greatest American architect of all time” • He was born in Richland Center, Wisconsin, on June 8, 1867, and died in Phoenix, Arizona, on April 9, 1959, at the age of 91 . When he was nine, his mother gave him a set of Froebel blocks, a children's learning toy. Through the blocks, Wright learned to use geometry to create flat designs on paper and to build designs with blocks. As he got older, he started to see geometric shapes in everything around him.

8. ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE 7 He started his formal education in 1885 at the University of Wisconsin School for Engineering. In 1887 he stopped his education without taking a degree and moved to Chicago, where he was consecutively a part of two architectural firms. In 1893 he started his own architectural practice. Wright designed more than 1,000 projects, which resulted in more than 500 completed works. Wright's "organic architecture“ was a radical departure from the traditional architecture of his day, which was dominated by European styles that dated back hundreds of years or even millennia. While most of his designs were single-family homes, his varied output also includes houses of worship, skyscrapers, resorts, museums, government offices, gas stations, bridges, and other masterpieces showing the diversity of Frank Lloyd Wright's talent. Notice Wright’s design, its different from the building to the right which is built approximately the same time as wright’s bank FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT (1869-1959)

9. ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE 8BASIC PRINCIPLES OF WRIGHTS DESIGN Besides the common principles used by many Architects, Wright had his own signature principles that made him unique from other architects who practice organic architecture. These are : -Organic Colors -Simple Geometric Shapes -Integration of Building with Natural Surroundings -Strong Horizontal Lines -Hidden Entries

10. ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE 9 Which of these basic principles do you see in the Arthur Heurtley House in Oak Park, Illinois built in 1902? Organic Colors? Simple Geometric Shapes? Integration with Natural Surroundings? Hidden Entry Way? Strong Horizontal Lines? BASIC PRINCIPLES OF WRIGHTS DESIGN

11. ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE 10 TALISIEN HOUSE. Spring green Wisconsin and Scottsdale Arizona TALISIEN HOUSE. Spring green Wisconsin TALISIEN HOUSE Scottsdale Arizona

12. ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE 11 TALISIEN HOUSE. Spring green Frank Lloyd Wright and his wife started the Taliesin Fellowship. Taliesin was Wright's home and school from 1937 until his death in 1959 at the age of 91. Twenty-three apprentices came to live and work on wrights farm in Spring Green .They learned drafting, construction methods, and other crafts, as well as overseeing the construction of Wright’s projects.. Each Fall after harvest ,the apprentices would then load up trucks and station wagons with food, drawings, and other necessities and caravan across the plains to scottsdale arizona, the site of Taliesin West

13. ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE 12 TALISIEN HOUSE Scottsdale Arizona Taliesin west was built in Frank's formulated style of prairie style. During the construction of Taliesin West, the house and studio were merely a series of “sleeping boxes” that were clustered around a central terrace for Wright and his apprentices Wright felt very strongly about the connection to the desert. F.L.W said, “Arizona needs its own architecture”. That is why he used Surface patterned after such abstraction in the patterns of rattlesnake, Gila monster, and Chameleon. The structure's walls are made of local desert rocks, stacked within wood forms, filled with concrete. The rich red hue from the redwood timber roof along with the earthy, sandy hues from the concrete and the stone façade creates a close natural relationship between the house and landscape

14. ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE 12 TALISIEN HOUSE Scottsdale Arizona Taliesin west was built in Frank's formulated style of prairie style. During the construction of Taliesin West, the house and studio were merely a series of “sleeping boxes” that were clustered around a central terrace for Wright and his apprentices Wright felt very strongly about the connection to the desert. F.L.W said, “Arizona needs its own architecture”. That is why he used Surface patterned after such abstraction in the patterns of rattlesnake, Gila monster, and Chameleon. The structure's walls are made of local desert rocks, stacked within wood forms, filled with concrete. The rich red hue from the redwood timber roof along with the earthy, sandy hues from the concrete and the stone façade creates a close natural relationship between the house and landscape

15. ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE 13PRAIRIE HOUSES Prairie is a treeless grass-covered plain found in the United States and Canada, ->Observing these plains Frank formulated the prairie style which is characterized by :  strong horizontal lines  large windows  Took into account the surrounding geography  Open plan rooms • But unlike the usonian houses which are cheap and affordable the prairie houses are built for the wealthy. These houses are built mainly with brick and concrete. But when it comes to usonian houses their primary building material is wood which is easy to build with and cheap in the USA. But this doesn’t mean that brick is not also used in usonian houses. Typically, this houses consisted of broad open spaces instead of strictly defined rooms, and deliberately blurred the distinction between interior space and the surrounding terrain. Wright acclaimed "the new reality that is space instead of matter" and, about architectural interiors, said that the "reality of a building is not the container but the space within."

16. ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE 14USONIAN HOUSES In 1936, when the united states was in the depth of an economic depression, fl.Wright developed a series of homes he called usonian. Usonian refers to houses of the USA, because previously built houses were based on neoclassic style of Greek Architecture and FL wright aimed to completely change this style into a brand new American architecture which has no connections with the past. Usonian house project was started in the same year his falling water landed him on the cover of Time, magazine. These designs reflected his desire to craft a uniquely American style, as well as his interest in creating well- designed homes that an average American could afford. The client for wrights usonian houses were distinctly middle class in contrast to clients of prairie houses which were very wealthy. And even though usonian architecture grew out of wright’s earlier praire style, they are cost controlled so as to achieve affordability.

17. ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE 15 - No formal living area( no distinction or closed wall) - Radiant heating system( with pipes full of hot steam running through the foundation to heat up the house from the ground up) - Materials like brick and wood were left unpainted - Open floor plan - Incorporation of the living area with he kitchen - A strong visual Connection between the indoor and the outdoor - Strong horizontal lines - No garage no basement and no attic - Natural lighting with celestory windows - No or little ornamentation - Low roofs CHARACTERISTICS OF USONIAN HOUSES

18. ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE 16 BROADACRE CITY Broadacre city was an urban development concept proposed by fl. Wright throughout most of his lifetime. He presented the idea in his book The disappearing city in 1932. A few years later he unveiled a very detailed 3.7m by 3,7m scale model representing a hypothetical 10km2 community. The model was crafted by the students of Taliesin Most of the building models in the concept were completely new designs while others were refinement of old ones. In the plan ach family is given one acre (4000m2) plot which they can have private gardens and swimming pools, There is a train station and a few office and apartment buildings. But the apartment dwellers are expected to be a small minority All important transportation is done by automobiles, although there are boats.

19. ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE 17 PICTURES OF BROADACRE CITY

20. ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE 18TYPICAL EXAMPLES THE SOLOMON R. GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum was one of Wright’s most noticeable creation, Guggenheim museum has its origins in the Taliesin west where he perfected his design for, 16 years ( 1943–1959). In return Guggenheim Museum is considered as Wright’s masterpiece followed next to Falling water. The building rises as a warm big spiral. Its interior is similar to the inside of a seashell. Its unique central geometry was meant to allow visitors to easily experience Guggenheim's collection of nonobjective geometric paintings by taking an elevator to the top level and then viewing artworks by walking down the slowly descending, central spiral ramp. Unfortunately, when the museum was completed, a number of important details of Wright's design were ignored, including his desire for the interior to be painted off-white. Furthermore, the Museum currently designs exhibits to be viewed by walking up the curved walkway rather than walking down from the top level

21. ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE 19TYPICAL EXAMPLES . Robie House (1908-1910) Robie house was Influenced by the flat, expansive prairie landscape of the American Midwest. Therefore being built in Wright’s formulated prairie style. The Robie House creates a clever arrangement of public and private spaces. The client insisted on the idea of "seeing his neighbors without being seen" F.L.W Wright approached this request with an enormous cantilever over the porch Every rooms in the house are defined while still flowing into one another unlike usonian houses which are not well defined(no defined living room) Windows used were “light screens” which were composed of pieces of clear and colored glass, usually with representations of nature windows were also stretched on French doors along the entire south wall on the main level, opening up to a balcony.

22. ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE 20TYPICAL EXAMPLES FALLINGWATER(1936-1938); case study ►Fallingwater, is a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935 in rural southwestern Pennsylvania ► it was built as a weekend home for owners Mr. Edgar Kaufmann & his family. ► Wright’s admiration for Japanese architecture was important in his inspiration for this house, Just like in Japanese architecture, Wright wanted to create harmony between man and nature. ► The house was meant to compliment its site while still competing with the drama of the falls and their endless sounds of crashing water.

23. ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE 21 FALLINGWATER(1936-1938); case study TYPICAL EXAMPLES BUILDING FALLING WATER! Unlike the Guggenheim Museum which took 16 years of designing. Designing falling water took only a few hours! It wasn't until September of 1935 that Wright produced any drawings when suddenly he was overwhelmed by a surprise Visit from Edgar Kaufmann, on business trip nearby. Kaufmann called Wright and told him he would be at Taliesin in a few hours to see the plans for the new country house. Wright had nothing on paper. Summoning the help of apprentices Bob Mosher and Edgar Tafel, Wright sat down at the drawing table and produced several preliminary sketches for the house, surprisingly it was complete almost exactly When Kaufmann arrived, Wright greeted him saying “We’ve been expecting you." And thus began the design and creation of Fallingwater.

24. ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE 22TYPICAL EXAMPLES FALLINGWATER(1936-1938); case study Wright had recognized the attraction the waterfall had for his clients, and wanted them "to live with the waterfall, not just to look at it,. The Kaufmanns were unprepared for Wright's placing the house directly above the waterfall, instead of facing it, but readily accepted the architect's designs almost without change. Finally the main house was constructed from 1936-38, followed by the guest house construction in 1939 The original house contains simple rooms furnished by Wright himself, with an open living room and compact kitchen on the first floor, and three small bedrooms located on the second floor. The third floor was the location of the study and bedroom of Edgar Jr., the Kaufmann’s son.

25. ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE 23TYPICAL EXAMPLES FALLINGWATER(1936-1938); case study Interpretation of F.L.W idea of integrating falling water with the nature  The rooms all relate towards the house’s natural surroundings, and the living room even has steps that lead directly into the water below.  The circulation through the house consists of dark, narrow passageways, intended this way so that people experience a feeling of compression when compared to that of expansion the closer they get to the outdoors.  The ceilings of the rooms are low, reaching only up to 6’4″ in some places, in order to direct the eye horizontally to look outside. INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT FALLING WATER  Finl costa: $155,000 (Included $8,000 architect’s fees)  Square footage: The main house uses 5,330 square feet while the guest house uses 1,700 square feet.  Paint Colors. Only two colors were used throughout: a light ochre(yellowish orange color) for the concrete and his signature Cherokee red for the steel. Special paints were used to withstand environmental challenges.  Visitation: 4.5 million people since the door opned in 1964,  Fallingwater is the only major Wright-designed house to open to the public with its furnishings, artwork, and setting intact( untouched)  Fallingwater was featured on the cover of Time Magazine, January 1938

26. ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE 24TYPICAL EXAMPLES HERE ARE A FEW MORE DESIGNES BY FL.WRIGHT The Johnson Wax buildingUnity Temple“Bread and Butter” houses

27. ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE 25THE TRSNSFROMATION OF ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE Organic architecture seemed to have expired at the end of the twenties. Several of its leading pioneers such as Sullivan, Steiner and Gaudi died and in Europe the impending Second World War caused a general decline in building. In the 15th and 16th century however, organic architecture underwent a surprising revival brought about by pioneers of the modern movement. They transformed its initially rigid geometrical character into a more lively, organic direction Notre-Dame-du-Haut Le Corbusier Ronchamp, France, 1950- 1955 TWATerminal,JohnF.Kennedy Airport EeroSaarinen NewYork,USA,1956-1962 SydneyOperaHouse JørnUtzon Sydney,Australia,1957-1973 Philharmonie Hans Scharoun Berlin, Germany, 1956- 1963 Finlandiahall Alvar Aalto Helsinki, Finland, 1962- 1975 Sekem Kindergarden Portus-Bau Egypt, 1986 INGBank Alberts&VanHuut Amsterdam,theNetherlands, 1979-1987 ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE WORLDWIDE

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Organic architecture

Khalid Salhe

Organic architecture