As modern architecture developed, the prominent architects
of the day sought not only to establish their own style of design, but to
establish the modern style of
design. Men such as Ludwig Mies van der
Rohe and Alvar Aalto experimented with new materials and techniques, attempting
to define the age in such a way as Gothic architecture once did. In their own manner, both men began venturing
into the realm of the “open” floor plan, a relatively new and largely untested
characteristic of approaching structure.
Mies van der Rohe was very attracted to the De Stijl
movement’s insistence upon simplicity, functionality, and linearity, as well as
their embrace of the “machine.” These
philosophies continued to express themselves in his work as Mies became the
final director of the Bauhaus, before he was forced to shut it down due to
pressure from the Nazi party. Similar to
Walter Gropius, the first director of the Bauhaus, Mies believed that
rationality should influence the creative process and spirit of design. Mies’ philosophies towards design were
developed during a time when progressive thinkers ached for a new style to call
their own, extremely dissatisfied with the superficiality of the immediate
post-World War I era. They called for
the expression of modern materials and rational problem solving, and did not
like the mere application of classical facades to the front of a building that
was not otherwise classical.
Mies subscribed first and foremost to the idea that “less is
more.” He called his approach to design
“skin and bones” architecture, because he heavily invested in the use of
materials such as steel and glass, allowing him to create a building that was functionally
skeletal. He used steel members for the
“bones” of his structure, providing his buildings with great strength over
large distances. In turn, this permitted
the interiors to open up into wide, accessible spaces, freeing them from load
bearing walls and other partitioning demands.
His liberal use of glazing on the exterior facades served to further
open his interior spaces, giving them the appearance of vastness by connecting
them to the outside. Instead of rooms,
Mies liked the idea of creating spaces and sub-spaces within them in which to
serve their necessary and functional purposes, giving his interiors a
flexibility which is lost within the rigidity of a building divided into
distinct rooms. To use another of Mies’
aphorisms, he believed “God is in the details;” Gothic architecture was an
expression of harmony during an era of spirituality, and Mies strove to create
an architecture that was expressive of a rational era, and that therefore every
element must unite in a configuration that contributed to the design as a
whole.
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| Mies van der Rohe's Crown Hall, suspended entirely by the large steel columns and girders on the exterior. |
Crown Hall is viewed as one of the greatest of Mies’ many
achievements. Pure, in its simplistic
rectangular form, the interior of the building is completely column-free. It is a two story building, featuring a
sunken lower floor subdivided into classrooms, wholly enclosed by a façade of
glazing divided by steel. The most
prominent characteristic of the building are the eight large steel columns on
the exterior of the building, holding four massive steel girders extending
across the shorter span of the structure.
It is from these girders that the entire building is suspended, allowing
the main floor interior to remain unobstructed.
The aesthetic appeal comes entirely from its simplicity, as it
essentially consists solely of steel structural members and glazing panels of
various transparencies, articulating a harmony of creative and industrial
feelings.
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| The interior of Mies' Crown Hall, open entirely on the main floor to create an expansive studio space. |
Alvar Aalto also experimented with open plans, but
approached the idea from a very different angle than Mies van der Rohe
did. Aalto’s design style originated
from a much more humanistic philosophy, rather than a strictly functional
one. Whereas Mies desired to create a
defining style for modernism, emphasizing modern
ideas, modern techniques, and modern materials, Aalto was more
concerned with using them in a cohesive manner to create an environment in
which the modern man could reside happily and work comfortably. Instead of simplistic rigidity, Aalto
employed warm colors, curvilinear features, and natural materials to achieve
this. He sought to promote the mood,
atmosphere, and intensity of life. To
achieve this freedom, Aalto would begin his designs without the use of precise
tools. He would sketch freehand, not
concerning himself with details right away.
He would focus on designing to the style of each site, creating complex
and interwoven forms using various materials.
Through the resulting volumes he would then develop spaces, utilize
windows to introduce desirable views, and suggest a feeling of motion, which he
thought were anthropomorphic qualities.
To further advance his flexible spaces he would instill a great deal of
daylight, and devise ways in which to allow wind and natural ventilation to
improve the natural feeling. His
overarching goal was to integrate the natural and the artificial. In opposition to architects such as Le
Corbusier, Aalto felt that “Nature not the machine should serve as the model
for architecture,” because “Architecture cannot disengage itself from natural
and human factors, on the contrary it must never do so. Its function is to bring nature closer to us.” Aalto used his open, flowing spaces to
promote this philosophy.
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| Alvar Aalto's Villa Mairea, his first major departure from strict modernist style. |
The Villa Mairea is a significant work of Aalto’s because it
is one of the first of his buildings that allowed him to transition into his acutely
developed philosophy of humanism. The
owners were wealthy and desired a rural retreat, and therefore entreated Aalto
to feel free to experiment. They
inspired him to diverge from the fairly rigid structure of more typical
modernism. The result is a
transformation of materiality, advancement of technology, and a theme of
varying experience. He transitions from
an exterior space comprised of stone and grass to an interior space comprised
severally of steel, glazing, and the more intimate wood and tile. By creating such transformation throughout
the house, Aalto is able to play with the interior/exterior dynamic, blurring
the lines between outside and in. He uses
a multitude of thin wooden columns of various sizes throughout the house,
keeping spaces open but at the same time, enclosing them like might appear in a
natural wooded environment. He creates
spaces that seem to both be open and closed at the same time, using screens and
columns to play with daylight allowing them to variously feel expansive and
intimate.
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| An interior view of Villa Mairea, creating a space that is both open and yet intimate. |
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| Another interior view of Villa Mairea; Aalto created an environment in which one could feel tied to both the exterior and interior by allowing one to feel open to nature. |
