Modern Architecture Essay -- Modernism, Postmodernism

As some critics contended, postmodernism shows a break with the modernist notion that architecture should be technologically rational, austere and functional, discuss the ship canal in which one postmodern architect has developed strategies which overcome these tendencies.Juxtaposition is seen between the characteristics of early 20th century modern architecture and the artistic endeavours of postmodernism that followed. To represent the Less is More (R.Venturi, 1966, pg16) notion the modernist tendencies had adopted, Robert Venturi built a Ghost Structure to imply architecture had no longer become an art form and was tho just a spectator (Architecturerevived, 2011) in society. This essay will discuss ship canal in which the architect Robert Venturi adopts methods to overcome these tendencies that architecture has lost meaning and ways in which he attempts to remove himself with any links with the post-modernist movement that he is viewed in having.Modern Architects saw their role as reformers, (R.Venturi, 1966, pg16) and tended to break with tradition and choke anew. Considering it was a new revolutionary movement they tended to sack potential problems and focused on the new modern advancements available.A modernist tendency was to build individually provided Venturi claimed that a building derives meaning from its context (Out Of the Ordinary, 2002) and evidently each individual location requires a different form of architectural style to represent this. In Venturis book Complexity and Contradiction he quotes familiar things seen in unfamiliar context become perceptually new as well as oldish (R.Venturi, 1966, pg43) here he perhaps means in order for art to become worthy of aesthetic appreciation the v... ...ical architecture in which he find shouldnt be forgotten but instead should be admired and inspire future movements. Despite modernism striping what Venturi believed was the art from architecture he fought to overcome these tendencies are drew upo n relevant historic features and characterisations and applied them liberally to his design, in accordance to their context. Nevertheless he understood that designing for the user was material and not to exclude social problems. He undertook the modernist concept of advanced ways to construct and recognised and understood the developing society, yet he chose not to ignore historic references and applied them in a system of layers within his designs to accommodate for the advanced civilization whilst electing to apply asceticism for both a functional and visual experience.