Frank Gehry
Born in Canada in 1929 , Frank Gehry is a well-known, controversial architect who currently works in Los Angeles. His style can best be described as "deconstructivism", a style characterized by distortion of shapes. Critics are quick to point out that his buildings are inefficient and sabotage cityscapes, while fans celebrate his cutting-edge designs and role as a pioneer in computer-based design.
Zaha Hadid
Born in Iraq in 1950, Zaha Hadid is an Iraqi-British architect. Critics of Gehry will likely be even more off-put by her style as she further pushes "deconstructivism" into a futuristic blend. Her work is well-regarded and she may be the most sought-after current architect around the world, but like Gehry she recieves many of the same criticisms for her standoff-ish buildings and inefficient designs. She deserves special recognition, however, for her role as a pioneer in a traditionally male-dominated field.
Tadao Ando
Tadao Ando, born in Japan in 1941, is everything Hadid and Gehry are not. Ando's work can best be characterized as "minimalist". His work seeks to blend in with its environment, and the beauty is often in what isn't there as much as in what is there. Ando, who taught himself architecture, still works in Japan where his buildings seem to evoke Japanese philosophical history.
What are some of your favorite works by these architects or your favorite architects still in practice today?
This post was very interesting to me because I really do not know a lot about architecture because I usually focus on interior designers. Thanks for the great post!
ReplyDeleteI am a huge fan of Zaha Hadid's work. I love how abstract her work is and that it has many interesting rhythms. I agree that here are many areas in her floorplans that are unusable though. There are small spaces <90 degrees. She also doesn't take the cityscape into account so her buildings often appear very out of place; they are so modern and the cities are often very old.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great thing to post about Josh! We never get to learn about any architects, even though architecture is important concentration that we will be working hand in hand with many architects wherever we may end up working!
ReplyDeleteAndo Tadao and Zaha Hadid are my two favorite architects, and I am glad they are still actively in practice today. There are some works done by Ando and Zaha in Korea and their works are considering as landmarks of the areas. It was interesting that the construction characteristics of Ando and Zaha/Gehry are completely the opposite, but they are all respected worldwidely at the same time period.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing! Like Claire, I'm not familiar with a lot of architects, but feel it it important to be aware of their work and style because as Jasmine mentioned, we will be working hand in hand with them on future projects. I looked at a few examples of each of their work, and I agree with your description of her style. One thing I really liked with her works are the movement that is involved in each.
ReplyDeleteI am going to have to Google Hadid and Ando's work - you have piqued my interest!
ReplyDeleteI am going to have to Google Hadid and Ando's work - you have piqued my interest!
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