Minoru Yamasaki and the Fragility of Architecture

Minoru Yamasaki and the Fragility of Architecture

Author: Paul Kidder

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-07-18

Total Pages: 265

ISBN-13: 1000417131

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Few figures in the American arts have stories richer in irony than does architect Minoru Yamasaki. While his twin towers of New York’s World Trade Center are internationally iconic, few who know the icon recognize its architect’s name or know much about his portfolio of more than 200 buildings. One is tempted to call him America’s most famous forgotten architect. He was classed in the top tier of his profession in the 1950s and ’60s, as he carried modernism in novel directions, yet today he is best known not for buildings that stand but for two projects that were destroyed under tragic circumstances: the twin towers and the Pruitt-Igoe housing project in St. Louis. This book undertakes a reinterpretation of Yamasaki’s significance that combines architectural history with the study of his intersection with defining moments of American history and culture. The story of the loss and vulnerability of Yamasaki’s legacy illustrates the fragility of all architecture in the face of natural and historical forces, yet in Yamasaki’s view, fragility is also a positive quality in architecture: the source of its refinement, beauty, and humanity. We learn something essential about architecture when we explore this tension of strength and fragility. In the course of interpreting Yamasaki’s architecture through the wide lens of the book we see the mid-century role of Detroit as an industrial power and architectural mecca; we follow a debate over public housing that entailed the creation and eventual destruction of many thousands of units; we examine competing attempts to embody democratic ideals in architecture and to represent those ideals in foreign lands; we ponder the consequences of anti-Japanese prejudice and the masculism of the architectural profession; we see Yamasaki’s style criticized for its arid minimalism yet equally for its delicacy and charm; we observe Yamasaki making a great name for himself in the Arab world but his twin towers ultimately destroyed by Islamic militants. As this curious tale of ironies unfolds, it invites reflection on the core of modern architecture’s search for meaning and on the creative possibilities its legacy continues to offer. Beautifully illustrated with over 100 color illustrations of Yamasaki’s buildings, this book will be of interest to students, academics and professionals in a range of disciplines, including architectural history, architectural theory, architectural preservation, and urban design and planning.


Book Synopsis Minoru Yamasaki and the Fragility of Architecture by : Paul Kidder

Download or read book Minoru Yamasaki and the Fragility of Architecture written by Paul Kidder and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-07-18 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Few figures in the American arts have stories richer in irony than does architect Minoru Yamasaki. While his twin towers of New York’s World Trade Center are internationally iconic, few who know the icon recognize its architect’s name or know much about his portfolio of more than 200 buildings. One is tempted to call him America’s most famous forgotten architect. He was classed in the top tier of his profession in the 1950s and ’60s, as he carried modernism in novel directions, yet today he is best known not for buildings that stand but for two projects that were destroyed under tragic circumstances: the twin towers and the Pruitt-Igoe housing project in St. Louis. This book undertakes a reinterpretation of Yamasaki’s significance that combines architectural history with the study of his intersection with defining moments of American history and culture. The story of the loss and vulnerability of Yamasaki’s legacy illustrates the fragility of all architecture in the face of natural and historical forces, yet in Yamasaki’s view, fragility is also a positive quality in architecture: the source of its refinement, beauty, and humanity. We learn something essential about architecture when we explore this tension of strength and fragility. In the course of interpreting Yamasaki’s architecture through the wide lens of the book we see the mid-century role of Detroit as an industrial power and architectural mecca; we follow a debate over public housing that entailed the creation and eventual destruction of many thousands of units; we examine competing attempts to embody democratic ideals in architecture and to represent those ideals in foreign lands; we ponder the consequences of anti-Japanese prejudice and the masculism of the architectural profession; we see Yamasaki’s style criticized for its arid minimalism yet equally for its delicacy and charm; we observe Yamasaki making a great name for himself in the Arab world but his twin towers ultimately destroyed by Islamic militants. As this curious tale of ironies unfolds, it invites reflection on the core of modern architecture’s search for meaning and on the creative possibilities its legacy continues to offer. Beautifully illustrated with over 100 color illustrations of Yamasaki’s buildings, this book will be of interest to students, academics and professionals in a range of disciplines, including architectural history, architectural theory, architectural preservation, and urban design and planning.

Minoru Yamasaki

Minoru Yamasaki

Author: Dale Allen Gyure

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2017-11-28

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13: 0300229860

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The first book to reevaluate the evocative and polarizing work of one of midcentury America’s most significant architects Born to Japanese immigrant parents in Seattle, Minoru Yamasaki (1912–1986) became one of the towering figures of midcentury architecture, even appearing on the cover of Time magazine in 1963. His self-proclaimed humanist designs merged the modern materials and functional considerations of postwar American architecture with traditional elements such as arches and colonnades. Yamasaki’s celebrated and iconic projects of the 1950s and ’60s, including the Lambert–St. Louis Airport and the U.S. Science Pavilion in Seattle, garnered popular acclaim. Despite this initial success, Yamasaki’s reputation began to decline in the 1970s with the mixed critical reception of the World Trade Center in New York, one of the most publicized projects in the world at the time, and the spectacular failure of St. Louis’s Pruitt-Igoe Apartments, which came to symbolize the flaws of midcentury urban renewal policy. And as architecture moved in a more critical direction influenced by postmodern theory, Yamasaki seemed increasingly old-fashioned. In the first book to examine Yamasaki’s life and career, Dale Allen Gyure draws on a wealth of previously unpublished archival material, and nearly 200 images, to contextualize his work against the framework of midcentury modernism and explore his initial successes, his personal struggles—including with racism—and the tension his work ultimately found in the divide between popular and critical taste.


Book Synopsis Minoru Yamasaki by : Dale Allen Gyure

Download or read book Minoru Yamasaki written by Dale Allen Gyure and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2017-11-28 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first book to reevaluate the evocative and polarizing work of one of midcentury America’s most significant architects Born to Japanese immigrant parents in Seattle, Minoru Yamasaki (1912–1986) became one of the towering figures of midcentury architecture, even appearing on the cover of Time magazine in 1963. His self-proclaimed humanist designs merged the modern materials and functional considerations of postwar American architecture with traditional elements such as arches and colonnades. Yamasaki’s celebrated and iconic projects of the 1950s and ’60s, including the Lambert–St. Louis Airport and the U.S. Science Pavilion in Seattle, garnered popular acclaim. Despite this initial success, Yamasaki’s reputation began to decline in the 1970s with the mixed critical reception of the World Trade Center in New York, one of the most publicized projects in the world at the time, and the spectacular failure of St. Louis’s Pruitt-Igoe Apartments, which came to symbolize the flaws of midcentury urban renewal policy. And as architecture moved in a more critical direction influenced by postmodern theory, Yamasaki seemed increasingly old-fashioned. In the first book to examine Yamasaki’s life and career, Dale Allen Gyure draws on a wealth of previously unpublished archival material, and nearly 200 images, to contextualize his work against the framework of midcentury modernism and explore his initial successes, his personal struggles—including with racism—and the tension his work ultimately found in the divide between popular and critical taste.

Minoru Yamasaki

Minoru Yamasaki

Author: Dale Allen Gyure

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2017-01-01

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 0300217099

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Dale Allen Gyure traces the full career of midcentury American architect Minoru Yamasaki, providing new insight into his unique style and his unfortunate fall from stardom in the later 20th century.


Book Synopsis Minoru Yamasaki by : Dale Allen Gyure

Download or read book Minoru Yamasaki written by Dale Allen Gyure and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2017-01-01 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dale Allen Gyure traces the full career of midcentury American architect Minoru Yamasaki, providing new insight into his unique style and his unfortunate fall from stardom in the later 20th century.

Modern Architecture and Climate

Modern Architecture and Climate

Author: Daniel A. Barber

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2023-04-11

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13: 0691248656

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How climate influenced the design strategies of modernist architects Modern Architecture and Climate explores how leading architects of the twentieth century incorporated climate-mediating strategies into their designs, and shows how regional approaches to climate adaptability were essential to the development of modern architecture. Focusing on the period surrounding World War II—before fossil-fuel powered air-conditioning became widely available—Daniel Barber brings to light a vibrant and dynamic architectural discussion involving design, materials, and shading systems as means of interior climate control. He looks at projects by well-known architects such as Richard Neutra, Le Corbusier, Lúcio Costa, Mies van der Rohe, and Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, and the work of climate-focused architects such as MMM Roberto, Olgyay and Olgyay, and Cliff May. Drawing on the editorial projects of James Marston Fitch, Elizabeth Gordon, and others, he demonstrates how images and diagrams produced by architects helped conceptualize climate knowledge, alongside the work of meteorologists, physicists, engineers, and social scientists. Barber describes how this novel type of environmental media catalyzed new ways of thinking about climate and architectural design. Extensively illustrated with archival material, Modern Architecture and Climate provides global perspectives on modern architecture and its evolving relationship with a changing climate, showcasing designs from Latin America, Europe, the United States, the Middle East, and Africa. This timely and important book reconciles the cultural dynamism of architecture with the material realities of ever-increasing carbon emissions from the mechanical cooling systems of buildings and offers a historical foundation for today’s zero-carbon design.


Book Synopsis Modern Architecture and Climate by : Daniel A. Barber

Download or read book Modern Architecture and Climate written by Daniel A. Barber and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2023-04-11 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How climate influenced the design strategies of modernist architects Modern Architecture and Climate explores how leading architects of the twentieth century incorporated climate-mediating strategies into their designs, and shows how regional approaches to climate adaptability were essential to the development of modern architecture. Focusing on the period surrounding World War II—before fossil-fuel powered air-conditioning became widely available—Daniel Barber brings to light a vibrant and dynamic architectural discussion involving design, materials, and shading systems as means of interior climate control. He looks at projects by well-known architects such as Richard Neutra, Le Corbusier, Lúcio Costa, Mies van der Rohe, and Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, and the work of climate-focused architects such as MMM Roberto, Olgyay and Olgyay, and Cliff May. Drawing on the editorial projects of James Marston Fitch, Elizabeth Gordon, and others, he demonstrates how images and diagrams produced by architects helped conceptualize climate knowledge, alongside the work of meteorologists, physicists, engineers, and social scientists. Barber describes how this novel type of environmental media catalyzed new ways of thinking about climate and architectural design. Extensively illustrated with archival material, Modern Architecture and Climate provides global perspectives on modern architecture and its evolving relationship with a changing climate, showcasing designs from Latin America, Europe, the United States, the Middle East, and Africa. This timely and important book reconciles the cultural dynamism of architecture with the material realities of ever-increasing carbon emissions from the mechanical cooling systems of buildings and offers a historical foundation for today’s zero-carbon design.

Yamasaki in Detroit

Yamasaki in Detroit

Author: John Gallagher

Publisher: Wayne State University Press

Published: 2015-09-01

Total Pages: 128

ISBN-13: 0814341209

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Although his best-known project was the World Trade Center in New York City, Japanese American architect Minoru Yamasaki (1912–1986) worked to create moments of surprise, serenity, and delight in distinctive buildings around the world. In his adopted home of Detroit, where he lived and worked for the last half of his life, Yamasaki produced many important designs that range from public buildings to offices and private residences. In Yamasaki in Detroit: A Search for Serenity, author John Gallagher presents both a biography of Yamasaki—or Yama as he was known—and an examination of his working practices, with an emphasis on the architect’s search for a style that would express his artistic goals. Gallagher explores Yamasaki’s drive to craft tranquil spaces amid bustling cities while other modernists favored "glass box" designs. He connects Yamasaki’s design philosophy to tumultuous personal experiences, including the architect’s efforts to overcome poverty, racial discrimination, and his own inner demons. Yamasaki in Detroit surveys select projects spanning from the late 1940s to the end of Yamasaki's life, revealing the unique gardens, pools, plazas, skylight atriums, and other oases of respite in these buildings. Gallagher includes prominent works like the Michigan Consolidated Gas Building in downtown Detroit, Temple Beth-El in Bloomfield Township, and landmark buildings on the Wayne State University and College for Creative Studies campuses, as well as smaller medical clinics, office buildings, and private homes (including Yamasaki’s own residence). Gallagher consults Yamasaki’s own autobiographical writings, architects who worked with Yamasaki in his firm, and photography from several historic archives to give a full picture of the architect’s work and motivations. Both knowledgeable fans of modernist architecture and general readers will enjoy Yamasaki in Detroit.


Book Synopsis Yamasaki in Detroit by : John Gallagher

Download or read book Yamasaki in Detroit written by John Gallagher and published by Wayne State University Press. This book was released on 2015-09-01 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although his best-known project was the World Trade Center in New York City, Japanese American architect Minoru Yamasaki (1912–1986) worked to create moments of surprise, serenity, and delight in distinctive buildings around the world. In his adopted home of Detroit, where he lived and worked for the last half of his life, Yamasaki produced many important designs that range from public buildings to offices and private residences. In Yamasaki in Detroit: A Search for Serenity, author John Gallagher presents both a biography of Yamasaki—or Yama as he was known—and an examination of his working practices, with an emphasis on the architect’s search for a style that would express his artistic goals. Gallagher explores Yamasaki’s drive to craft tranquil spaces amid bustling cities while other modernists favored "glass box" designs. He connects Yamasaki’s design philosophy to tumultuous personal experiences, including the architect’s efforts to overcome poverty, racial discrimination, and his own inner demons. Yamasaki in Detroit surveys select projects spanning from the late 1940s to the end of Yamasaki's life, revealing the unique gardens, pools, plazas, skylight atriums, and other oases of respite in these buildings. Gallagher includes prominent works like the Michigan Consolidated Gas Building in downtown Detroit, Temple Beth-El in Bloomfield Township, and landmark buildings on the Wayne State University and College for Creative Studies campuses, as well as smaller medical clinics, office buildings, and private homes (including Yamasaki’s own residence). Gallagher consults Yamasaki’s own autobiographical writings, architects who worked with Yamasaki in his firm, and photography from several historic archives to give a full picture of the architect’s work and motivations. Both knowledgeable fans of modernist architecture and general readers will enjoy Yamasaki in Detroit.

The Wrong House

The Wrong House

Author: Steven Jacobs

Publisher: 010 Publishers

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 346

ISBN-13: 906450637X

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Architecture plays an important role In the films of Alfred Hitchcock. Steven Jacobs devotes lengthy discussion to a series of domestic buildings with the help of a number of reconstructed floor plans made specially for this book.


Book Synopsis The Wrong House by : Steven Jacobs

Download or read book The Wrong House written by Steven Jacobs and published by 010 Publishers. This book was released on 2007 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Architecture plays an important role In the films of Alfred Hitchcock. Steven Jacobs devotes lengthy discussion to a series of domestic buildings with the help of a number of reconstructed floor plans made specially for this book.

Draw Me a House

Draw Me a House

Author: Thibaud Herem

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780956205377

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An interactive colouring book that invites readers to think about, doodle and engage with architectural elements from doorknobs to skyscrapers.


Book Synopsis Draw Me a House by : Thibaud Herem

Download or read book Draw Me a House written by Thibaud Herem and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An interactive colouring book that invites readers to think about, doodle and engage with architectural elements from doorknobs to skyscrapers.

20th-Century World Architecture

20th-Century World Architecture

Author: Editors of Phaidon

Publisher: Phaidon Press

Published: 2012-10-08

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780714857060

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Global investigation of 20th-century architecture, 750+ masterpieces richly illustrated.


Book Synopsis 20th-Century World Architecture by : Editors of Phaidon

Download or read book 20th-Century World Architecture written by Editors of Phaidon and published by Phaidon Press. This book was released on 2012-10-08 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Global investigation of 20th-century architecture, 750+ masterpieces richly illustrated.

A Life in Architecture

A Life in Architecture

Author: Minoru Yamasaki

Publisher: Weatherhill, Incorporated

Published: 1979-01-01

Total Pages: 195

ISBN-13: 9780834801363

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Book Synopsis A Life in Architecture by : Minoru Yamasaki

Download or read book A Life in Architecture written by Minoru Yamasaki and published by Weatherhill, Incorporated. This book was released on 1979-01-01 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Interactive Architecture

Interactive Architecture

Author: Michael Fox

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Published: 2016-06-07

Total Pages: 179

ISBN-13: 161689511X

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Recent technological developments in biology, computation, cybernetics, engineering, industrial design, materials, and robotics allow architecture to evolve beyond static functionality and become an active participant—with the capacity to perceive, react to, and connect—with humans and the natural world. The first process-based guide by Michael Fox and Miles Kemp introduced interactive architecture in 2009, and the past few years have seen its prototypical potential unleashed, manifest in the eighteen inventive projects featured in this follow-up, the latest in our Architecture Briefs series. Interactive Architecture: Adaptive World illustrates how structures can process information, make observations, and utilize tools to translate natural systems and create seamlessly integrated environments, from data-driven light installations, responsive sculptures, and performative materials, to smart highways, dynamic spaces, kinetic facades, and adaptive buildings. Ambitious projects from around the world, including Abu Dhabi, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Frankfurt, London, Paris, Sochi, and Zurich, are illuminated by photographs, diagrams, and renderings.


Book Synopsis Interactive Architecture by : Michael Fox

Download or read book Interactive Architecture written by Michael Fox and published by Chronicle Books. This book was released on 2016-06-07 with total page 179 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent technological developments in biology, computation, cybernetics, engineering, industrial design, materials, and robotics allow architecture to evolve beyond static functionality and become an active participant—with the capacity to perceive, react to, and connect—with humans and the natural world. The first process-based guide by Michael Fox and Miles Kemp introduced interactive architecture in 2009, and the past few years have seen its prototypical potential unleashed, manifest in the eighteen inventive projects featured in this follow-up, the latest in our Architecture Briefs series. Interactive Architecture: Adaptive World illustrates how structures can process information, make observations, and utilize tools to translate natural systems and create seamlessly integrated environments, from data-driven light installations, responsive sculptures, and performative materials, to smart highways, dynamic spaces, kinetic facades, and adaptive buildings. Ambitious projects from around the world, including Abu Dhabi, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Frankfurt, London, Paris, Sochi, and Zurich, are illuminated by photographs, diagrams, and renderings.