CHAPTER 5
THE TURN OF THE CENTURY EUROPE AND ITS INFLUENCES, PRELUDE TO MODERNISM (1870–1910)
The architects discussed in this chapter are generally considered premodern, although many of them have been credited with initiating elements of a modern style. After the decline of the widespread neoclassical influence, architecture was undergoing transition. At the turn of the twentieth century, the technology of world travel facilitated the transfer of knowledge and thus carried architectural ideas between countries. Industrialization, growing urban areas, and relative economic stability all contributed to divergent thinking. These changing environments saw European influence penetrate into India and Asia. Such transition also allowed for the emergence of new styles, such as the Arts and Crafts movement in Britain; Art Nouveau, beginning in France, Belgium, and Spain; and Secession in Austria. The United States suspended tradition by initiating construction of the tall building and encouraging development to the western regions of the country. Japan opened its ports to trade and consciously set a path toward westernization known as Meiji.
This period of transition also affected these architects' use of sketches and drawings. Some of these architects used techniques found in traditional sketches. Others such as Adolf Loos converted his sketches in tune with his straightforward approach to architecture. Many of these architects experimented with untested building materials that led them to find new ways to represent the material's use. Most of these architects depended upon sketches to resolve more complex relationships between materials' form and conceptual statements.
ARTS AND CRAFTS
As a result of extensive industrialization, architectural theorists as early as Pugin criticized the machine's part in the destruction of the human's 'spiritual and physical well being' (Naylor, 1971, p. 15). Begun in England, the Arts and Crafts movement was championed by several prominent theorists such as John Ruskin who advocated the worth of the working populace. He was not against technology and believed in 'organic principles that could be emulated by both art and industry' (Naylor, 1971, p. 23). In 1849 he published The Seven Lamps of Architecture, which laid out principles for the ethical use of materials. He followed this with Stones of Venice in 1851 and 1853. These books became a foundation for the Arts and Crafts doctrine (Naylor, 1971; Makinson, 1977). Although C. F. A. Voysey contributed concepts of simplicity, it was William Morris, in the 1860s and 1870s, who launched the movement. It promoted an egalitarian view of the arts, as the luxury of handcraftsmanship was affordable only to the wealthy. Morris was against industry and he also declined to imitate styles from the past. He admired the medieval process of craft, but not its style (Trachtenberg and Hyman, 1986). Like Ruskin, he supported respect for laborers; he felt the designer or architect should obtain an intimate knowledge of materials and understand their properties. This relationship with materials should be acquired from hands-on experience (Naylor, 1971).
The Arts and Crafts influenced the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh in Scotland and Edwin Lutyens in England and spread throughout Europe and into the United States. Josef Hoffmann's work reveals the movement's influence, and the American architects Greene and Greene continued to practice its principles into the early 1900s.
ART NOUVEAU
Similar to the Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau advocated craft and rejected standardization. But in using wrought iron and glass, this movement reflected the abilities of an industrialized society (Borsi and Portoghesi, 1991). Intending to evoke emotions, the Art Nouveau artists and architects formed fluid lines resembling whiplash curves and tendrils. They designed sinuous patterns and gracefully graphic posters. Architects employed a three-dimensional translation of the style, using iron primarily for biomorphic decoration. Although inspired by nature, they denied exact imitation of natural forms (Borsi and Portoghesi, 1991; Aubry and Vandenbreeden, 1996; Trachtenberg and Hyman, 1986). The Art Nouveau imagery flowed through the buildings in the form of stairs, balconies, and framing for doorways and windows. Mainly decorative, the style translated easily to furniture and utilitarian objects. In a tangential way, the writings of Viollet-le-Duc validated the movement's use of wrought iron (Trachtenberg and Hyman, 1986). The transforming of materials suggested the capacity of technology, and exemplified modern machine production. As a rejection of traditional architecture, Art Nouveau gave wealthy clients culture directly connected with industrialization (Borsi and Portoghesi, 1991). After beginning in the decorative arts, the style emerged in architecture in the early 1890s and was called Stile Liberty in Italy and Jugendstil in Eastern Europe, but faded soon after 1910. Hector Guimard, in France, and Victor Horta, in Belgium, designed some of the most cohesive Art Nouveau projects.
SECESSION
In Vienna, at the time of the Franz Joseph I celebration in 1897, exhibitions were planned by conservatives that excluded many of the more radical artists and architects. In response to this omission, several of them organized a group called the Secession. They soon published a magazine called Ver Sacrum that expressed the need for art and called for a new look at art and architecture. They presented their first exhibition within a year of their founding. This display of work proved to be so successful that they collected sufficient funds to build an exhibition hall. The result was the Vienna Secession building, located near the Naschmarkt and Karlsplatz, designed by member Josef Maria Olbrich (Latham, 1980; Fergusson, 1997). The simple geometric shape was crowned by a dome of gilded metal leaves.
This association of artists and architects was not a group united by style, but by a common philosophy. They advocated an all-encompassing artistic environment, declaring: 'To the time its art. To art its freedom' (Fergusson, 1997, p. 13). This rallying cry called for art to be modern, and allowed artists to choose a suitable expression. For the architects, this meant that the building should both adhere to its function and celebrate it, rather than hiding it (Latham, 1980). Besides Olbrich, other Viennese architects active in the Secession were Otto Wagner and Josef Hoffmann.
MEIJI
In 1854, American and European ships arrived in the ports of Japan. Fifteen years later, in 1868, the last shogun was replaced with an imperial government. The Emperor's aim was to modernize Japan by adopting culture and technology from abroad. His goals included organizing a military force, changing the boundaries of social classes, and centralizing the government. This period 1868 to 1912 launched Japan's transition. Called Meiji, the era embraced architectural styles from the West, especially European (Stewart, 1987). Following 1850, European-style architecture was constructed in Japan, modified by the local climate, availability of technology, and the influence of local custom (Stewart, 1987). In addition to buildings designed by foreigners, Japanese architects were constructing projects in a pseudo-western style called giyofu, such as the Kaichi school (1876) by Seiju Tateishi; the Tsukiji Hotel for foreigners (1868) and the First Mitsui Bank Headquarters (1872) by Kisuke Shimizu II. In the early 1870s, the Ministry of Technology opened a school staffed with professors imported from Europe. The giyofu buildings were often composed of Dutch, British, and Italian elements combined with such things as Japanese-style tile roofs. These unique compositions were described as 'carpentry [attempting] to mimic buildings constructed of masonry' (Stewart, 1987, p. 27).
Many artists and architects were influenced by the influx of Japanese culture into the West. In the late 1880s, the impressionist painters and Art Nouveau graphic artists found inspiration in the graceful Ukioye woodblock prints. As an example, Josef Hoffmann, along with the Secession artists, utilized aspects of Japanese art. The Arts and Crafts architects, especially Greene and Greene, were attracted to Japanese culture because of the well-crafted and exposed joinery, which reinforced their notion of the craftsman/laborer.
The legacy of these architects has been associated with the architecture of the turn of the century. In most cases, this period was a prolific and identifying period of these architects' careers, even though the pessimistic years following World War I did not sustain their individual styles to any extent. Despite the short span of time during which these projects were built, their effects were profound.
SKETCHES; REPRESENTATIONAL MEDIA
For these architects who share simultaneous time periods and overlapping influences, their sketches have both similarities and differences. The Art Nouveau and Secession architects benefited from their close association with graphic and fine artists. They acquired strong sketching skills, which developed from practice, education, and innate talent. Many of these designers, such as Mackintosh, studied in art schools. Others, such as Wagner, appeared to have a natural skill for representing designs in two dimensions. His fluid strokes in ink seldom required erasure and conveyed his conceptual explorations clearly. He obviously enjoyed sketching as he used these hand images extensively. This can be seen in the many variations of his designs, all explored thoroughly through images.
Some of these architectural styles were literally three-dimensional manifestations of art movements; many of the architects discussed in this chapter could easily shift between the two. For example, the graphic techniques practiced by Hoffmann can be viewed in his sketches. Throughout his career, he moved between designing architecture, domestic objects, posters, and furniture, and the bold outlined style conveyed his thinking in both dimensions.
In contrast to those of the neoclassical period, these architects were concerned with knowledge of and control over the construction process. This interest in details and technology was reflected in their sketches: Horta diagrammed acoustical reverberation angles, architects of the Arts and Crafts worked closely with the craftsmen, and the office of Greene and Greene studied material assembly. Needing to communicate directly with their contractors, the Greenes probably sketched to work out details as well as direct construction. Sketches were an efficient method to test ideas and explore material interactions. Undoubtedly, these in-depth investigations required additional construction drawings, which meant more sketches to work out the details. The architects of these movements were also commissioned to provide consistent design for interiors, objects, and furniture. The conception of these additional features required extensive study in two dimensions. Although there were remnants of beaux-arts education, many architects studied in art or technical schools. Their skills in practical arts prepared them for manipulation of materials and gave them a holistic attitude toward design.
Many architectural commissions were obtained through competitions. Sketches played a vital role in conceiving and illustrating potential projects. A skillful sketching style would help sell a project and make it more easily understandable. A seductive hand sketched perspective could quickly convey ideas of volume and spatial qualities to jurors. The use of color and texture added depth to the images, visual cues that clients could comprehend.
As in other periods, architects' intentions affected the manner of representation; the sketches reflected their beliefs and ideology. Mackintosh's light hand would sketch the delicate tracery of nature, such as flowers. Loos' sketches to alter hard-lined plans may suggest his critical attitudes. Gaudí found a way to utilize the inherent curve of hanging chains in his sketches, elements important to his structural forms. The Art Nouveau architects needed to use soft pencils to evoke the fluid lines of their forms, holding them loosely to achieve the continuous smooth arcs that defined the tendrils of their architecture. In contrast, Lutyens boldly sketched to cover the page, inserting images onto every empty space.
Unrestricted by the orthographic projection practices of the beaux-arts, these architects investigated concepts using a variety of techniques. They sketched in perspective, as well as the conventions of plan, section, and elevation. Their tools were substantially more sophisticated. Ink pens improved in quality and were easier to obtain; fountain pens proved to be more controllable than traditional dipped pens. Industrialization made such items continually more precise and available. Mass media encouraged the dissemination of architectural theory and practice, and influences from various parts of the world could now be widely considered. As eclectic as their architecture, these architects practiced differentiating techniques using various media. Although approaching sketches differently they each depended on them to explore the complexities required of the unprecedented architecture.
Olbrich, Josef Maria (1867–1908)
Sketch, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Hdz 10092, Ink on paper
As a founding member of the Secession movement in Vienna, Josef Maria Olbrich devoted his life to the arts, including architecture, interiors, furniture, and functional objects. He epitomized a designer in constant dialogue with his media, and his distinctive sketching style displayed fluid and confident visual expression.
Born in Troppau, he arrived in Vienna in 1882 to attend the Staadtsgewerbeschule, studying in the building department, and obtaining additional education at the Spezialschule für Architektur at the Akademie der Schönen Künste. Olbrich's skills were recognized by Otto Wagner during an Academy exhibition in 1893. He began work with Wagner, accepting the position of chief draughtsman for the Stadtbahn Project.
Olbrich's association with the Viennese artists and architects of the Secession proved crucial to his future. The prominence of his design for the Secession Exhibition Building and the group's ensuing exhibitions led to his invitation to Darmstadt's Mathildenhöhe by the Grand Duke, Ernst Ludwig, in 1899. Olbrich designed most of the structures on the site, being given the freedom to develop an experimental architectural laboratory. Over the next few years, he designed numerous houses and small projects in and around Germany, his largest being the Leonhard Tietz Department Store in Düsseldorf (Latham, 1980).
Olbrich's association with the Secessionist artists and his experience in the synergetic activity in Darmstadt demonstrated his commitment to the arts. Olbrich's architecture was based on abstract geometric forms with sparse appliqué for decoration, unlike the fluid expression of nature, through the entire building, as used by the Art Nouveau architects. He also felt an affinity for the Arts and Crafts movement, having contact with architects in Britain (Latham, 1980).
This quick but elegant sketch (Figure 5.1) confirms Olbrich's confident control of pen and ink. The expression of movement conjures up the dynamic experience of exhibition, creating a restless quality. The images are executed with near-perfect freehand perspective and the symmetrical façades are guided by just a few horizontals and verticals, sketched without erasing.
When observing a selection of his sketches, several examples show that he often diagrammed twenty or more small, obsessively neat elevation illustrations on a page. Other sketches in his repertoire are incredibly vigorous, lithe, and expressive. Olbrich was passionate about sketching as his sketches emit qualities of quickness, being both fast in a matter of time, intelligent, and thoughtful.
Described by the Italo Calvino as a concept which illuminates the meaning of quickness, Festina Lente literally means 'hurry slowly.' An apparent contradiction, the chiasmus inherently has the power to induce a greater understanding. Since Olbrich's images were sketched quickly, they have more information and may contain greater insight than images produced more slowly. In fact, they do convey something substantially perceptive by virtue of their speed (Calvino, 1988). The exuberance of the lines revealing an illusion may help to seduce and convince the observer of the sketch's potential. Although this sketch leaves many details vague, the whole impression has been communicated.
As a Roman adage, Festina Lente has had various meanings throughout history, often representing a need to resolve issues from contradictory positions (Lyons and Nichols, 1982). Olbrich may have been trusting the intuition of his subconscious, allowing the images to flow before his conscious mind could evaluate them for appropriateness. Quick lines often designate precise meaning, and in this example Olbrich was demonstrating the quick thinking of his imagination.
Wagner, Otto (1841–1918)
Perspective sketch, Vol. 021/30 verso, Museen der Stadt Wein, Inv. Nr. 96.021/30 verso, 34.8 × 21cm, Ink on paper
Otto Wagner's work, although originating from a traditional education, anticipated the emergence of modern architecture. The innovative use of new technologies and materials (wrought iron, glass, and aluminum) found their way into his architecture. His buildings were often clad with decorative panels, as distinctive of the Jugendstil, or infused with historical expression. He influenced a generation of architects through his teaching and mentoring, such as Adolf Loos, Josef Hoffmann, and Josef Olbrich.
Born in Penzig, near Vienna, Wagner initially studied at the Polytechnic Institute in Vienna from 1857 to 1859. He enrolled at the Royal Academy of Building in Berlin for approximately one year before moving on to the Vienna Academy from 1861 to 1863. Wagner's earliest projects were apartment buildings in Vienna that depended on historical reference. Wagner's later projects, such as the Postal Savings Bank Office of 1904–1912, relied less on surface ornament and considered new technologies such as exposed structure. Other notable projects include the Neumann Department Store (1895), the Church of St. Leopold (1905–1907), Die Zeit Telegraph Office (1902), and the Lupus Sanatorium (1910–1913). He also designed many stations for the Stadtbahn System in Vienna and was advisor to the Commission for the Regulation of the Danube Canal (Geretsegger and Peintner, 1979).
Werner Oechslin, when discussing raiment as a theory to describe Wagner's architecture, compares the essence and appearance to the kernel and hull. In a reference to Gottfried Semper, he differentiates between the 'essential content' and the 'inessential cladding' (Oechslin, 2002, p. 86). Wagner believed that innovations in structure should be approached creatively, and he was dismayed with engineers that were predisposed to utilize concepts literally. He felt that structural elements should not intersect, but should stand independently to demonstrate their function (Geretsegger and Peintner, 1964).
Wagner's sketching style exhibits his control of fluid, expressive lines (inessential cladding). In ink or pencil, the quick lines show evidence of erasure but represent a remarkably clear image from his imagination (essential content). The fast, proportionally accurate, and beautiful sketches also reveal Wagner's comfort with his media, achieved with extensive practice. Many of his drawings and sketches were meant as preliminaries, for presentations or competitions. Framed with lines, they use a dramatic perspective angle and often include texture and value. Some even reveal the action of walking through a building with the drag of a pencil, while others exhibit the calculations and hesitation of a pondering mind.1
This sketch (Figure 5.2) represents an early design for a festival pavilion, built in celebration of the marriage of the Crown Prince Rudolf and the Belgian Princess Stephanie in 1881. Wagner proposed a lighted and decorated processional path (including the Elizabeth Bridge), grandstands, and a festival structure used to welcome Princess Stephanie into the city (Graf, 1985). The page shows an ink perspective of the pavilion which has been framed with single lines. Although a comprehensive view, it is a preliminary scheme since it describes different treatment of the columns. Lower on the page appears a blurred form, bleeding through the reverse side of the paper. On the reverse of this page, a dress design for Wagner's second wife Louise Stiffels has been sketched. Perhaps while designing the pavilion, his wife expressed concern about her attire for the celebration, since as 'honored citizens' they were undoubtedly attending the festivities (Mallgrave, 1993). With this interruption, Wagner may have turned the paper over and explored designs for her dress.
Gaudí, Antonio (1852–1926)
Colonia Güell church. Study for the nave of the church drawn on an inverted photograph of the funicular model, Catedra Gaudi, Cat. 48.7, Ink on inverted photograph
The architectural work of Antonio Gaudí sparks much controversy – numerous critics ascribe his imaginative buildings to gothic and Moorish tradition, or credit his fluid lines to the Art Nouveau movement (Sweeney and Sert, 1960; de Solà-Morales, 1984; Descharnes and Piévost, 1971). Much of this may be true; his beginnings took imagery from these styles and the look of his elegant forms appear similar to the contemporary Art Nouveau architects, but Gaudí cannot be classified easily and this may only be a partial view of a complex man. Deeply religious, Gaudí felt a strong affinity for the Catalan literary and artistic movement called Renaixenca, manifest in architecture as a revival of medieval archaeology (Collins, 1960). He was concerned with the unity of principle between construction and ornamentation, and he viewed beauty in classical terms of proportion and harmony (Crippa, 2002; Martinell, 1975). Finding beauty in truth, he felt that ornament was to 'contain nothing superfluous, but only the material conditions which make it useful; we must take into account both the material and the use which will be made of it ... ' (Martinell, 1975, p. 125). Thus, his architecture often reflected structural moment diagrams or found form in geometry such as parabolic arches. On top of this he placed decoration and sculptural imagery imbued with symbolism.
Born Antonio Gaudí y Cornet in Reus, Catalonia, he descended from a family of coppersmiths. He moved to Barcelona in 1869, enrolling in architecture at the Escola Superior d'Arquitectura in 1870. Upon finishing school, Gaudí immediately obtained his first commission for streetlights in the Placa Reial and Pla del Palau. Finding a wealthy patron, he built a palace for Eusebi Güell (1885–1893) followed by an urban park (1900–1914). He designed other projects such as Casa Milá and Casa Batlló, but the passion of his life was the design and construction of the Cathedral of the Sagrada Familia which he worked on until his death in 1926.
Gaudí explored structure and ornamentation using drawings and sketches, but the most unique and interesting method of his conception and testing of ideas was his use of models. His studio, in the basement of Sagrada Familia, was filled with plaster casts, ornament, and detail models. His search for beauty in the efficiency of structure led him to build polyfunicular models. Using strings or chains loaded with small weights, he replicated the stresses on arches.
This sketch (Figure 5.3) is one of the few remaining sketches by Gaudí, since many of his drawings, models, and personal records were destroyed by revolutionaries in 1936. A study for the Colonia Güell church, this image for the nave has been sketched on an inverted photograph of a funicular model. He understood the structural principles, but employed the photograph as a way to view the interior space. Needing to assign volume to the arches (missing in the cable arcs), he could sketch over them with the assurance that the structure and form would coincide. Without calculating a perspective, he could quickly view the interior space. Thin dark lines of the chains are covered with soft pencil or chalk shading, defining the vaults of the ceiling and the dimension of the columns and arches. Openings are articulated by darkening potential windows.
Here Gaudí was combining the media of model, photography, and sketching to gain the information he required. Although still a vague suggestion of the future space, he was able to see more than the thin wires afforded him. Similar to architects who use tracing paper over drawings as a foundation, Gaudí was using what he knew to find out what he did not.
Mackintosh, Charles Rennie (1868–1928)
Sketch of doors for various palaces in Florence, (Contents: Florence, sketch u.l. shows door at the Palazzo della Zecca, Piazzale degli Uffizi, Florence. Sketch u.r. shows door of the Palazzo di Bianca Cappello, Via Maggio, Florence. Sketch l.l. shows the Palazzo Bartolini Salimbeni, Florence. Sketch l.r. shows trabeated forms of classical architecture), 1891, National Library of Ireland, PD 2009 TX 64, 17.4 × 12.6cm, Pencil
Charles Rennie Mackintosh was born in Glasgow, Scotland. Although influenced by Art Nouveau, Arts and Crafts, and the Vienna Secession movements, his architecture was imbued with contextual aspects of Scottish vernacular tradition. Beginning his career as an apprentice to John Hutchison, Mackintosh easily moved between graphic design, interiors, and building construction throughout his life. While attending the Glasgow School of Art he won numerous honors and was a member of the group The Four, with Margaret and Frances Macdonald and Herbert MacNair. He joined the architectural firm of Honeyman and Keppie in 1889, and in 1891 he received an award to travel to Italy – his only travel outside the British Isles. He approached this visit with the same observational and analytical gravity as his sketching trips through Scotland (Grogan, 2002).
Mackintosh acquired the competition commission for the Glasgow School of Art for Honeyman and Keppie in 1897, his most celebrated project. With a small budget, on an awkward, sloping site, he designed a masonry exterior with asymmetrical façades. The relatively plain elevations reveal the simple massing, recognized by some as the first designed in the modern style (Cooper, 1978). A few of his other notable buildings include Hill House and the Cranston Tea Houses in Glasgow.
This illustration (Figure 5.4) is a page from one of Mackintosh's Italian sketchbooks. As a stipulation of the Thomson Traveling Studentship, Mackintosh was required to study classical architecture, record his findings, and present a lecture to the Glasgow School of Art upon his return. Although he rendered watercolors and completed larger drawings, the sketchbook is largely a collection of his architectural thoughts. The page displays several buildings in Florence, as if he was comparing their likenesses or differences. Very few of these sketches have been drawn in perspective; instead, he sketched parts of the building as if he was attempting to understand their nature. Analysis consists of study often involving the separation of a whole into its component parts for examination. Analysis also suggests drawing conclusions through manipulating or regrouping pertinent material and locating meaning in their relationships (OED, 1971).
Each sketch remains unfinished, as if Mackintosh was viewing the parts to comprehend the whole; or, once he understood their structure he could avoid repeating the details. Author of a collection of his sketches, Elaine Grogan explains that the Victorian sketchbook was used to understand nature, such as with a scientist's recordings (2002). Similarly, the sketchbook was a memory device for Mackintosh to record his thoughts, but it also provided an avenue for observation and analysis. He used this sketchbook to study how decoration was applied to structure.
Typical of Mackintosh's pencil technique, this sketch is executed with minimal lines. He used a slow hand with firm and definitive marks, accentuated by hesitation and emphasizing the line's end. Numerous slow, wavy lines show his concentration and desire to think as he was drawing. Much like his graphic work for paintings and posters, Mackintosh's single line accentuates edges and gives the image a flat quality reminiscent of Japanese paintings and Ukioye prints (popular at the time). The placement of objects in a field creates a solid/void relationship, further defining the sketch as a graphic statement.
Loos, Adolf (1870–1933)
Modena park verbauung, Albertina, ALA 343 C4, Graphite on paper
The work of Adolf Loos exemplifies the contrasts and contradictions of the years leading toward modernism and the international style. Loos, who respected traditional architecture but experimented with sleek volumes, was actually better known for his writing. In his poignant and often ironic essays, Loos appraised contemporary culture and modern architecture, assuming the role of conscience for architects on the brink of a new modern style. He admonished the overly radical modernists in his article 'Poor Little Rich Man' and sarcastically entered Doric Column in the Chicago Tribune Competition.
Adolf Loos was born in Brünn (Brno), now the Czech Republic, in 1870. He was educated in architecture both at the State Technical School in Bohemia and later at the Dresden Polytechnic. He traveled throughout the United States between 1893 and 1896, attending the Columbia Exposition in Chicago and visiting New York, Philadelphia, and St. Louis. Upon his return, he wrote for the Neue Freie Presse until opening a practice in Vienna. Influenced by the architects Wagner, Semper, Schinkel, and Vitruvius, he felt a place in the evolution of architecture, which was based in tradition considering responsibility to contemporary functions.
Loos further critiqued the state of contemporary architecture through his built work. His belief that buildings should be plain on the exterior and reveal their complexity on the interior was seen with the Goldman and Salatsch store on Michaelerplatz (1910) (Gravagnuolo, 1982). Loos' relatively limited repertoire of building projects was primarily domestic, including the villas Steiner, Rufer, and Scheu, designed in the years before World War I.
Loos employed a formal approach to his design process initially drawing with ruled lines. On this page (Figure 5.5) it appears that he was attempting a final drawing and, during the process, became dissatisfied with its direction. Although begun with hard lines, the critique has been rendered freehand, and shows numerous lines that have been crossed out where they were deemed incorrect or unnecessary. Loos eliminated a stairway and in several instances added doors through the single line of walls. The diagrammatic layout of hard lines has been thickened with poché to better comprehend the positive space. The top left portion of the plan has been poorly erased, leaving a dark smudge. This entire area seems worked over with heavier marks and many alterations.
The elevation near the bottom of the page shows a formal and symmetrical façade flanked by oversized and exaggerated towers. The towers appear to be later additions, rendered freehand, in contrast to the limited articulation of the façade. They have been left unfinished to the ground, where the exaggeration in scale becomes obvious. When his attention shifted to the problem of the spires; he may have ignored their relationship to their context. Because of his satirical essays, Loos was familiar with the concept of caricature, and thus he may not have been disturbed by the variation in scale. The visual use of caricature often employs exaggeration to reveal a truth beneath outward appearances. The distortion is not meant to arbitrarily deform but rather to express a specific poignant feature (Gombrich and Kris, 1940; Kris, 1934). This caricature, not unlike the procedure of criticism, may not be intended to ridicule the look of the façade, but rather to more easily view the tower construction or to study the elements in isolation. Beginning the sketch with ruled lines may have reflected his interest to study simple geometries, but he may have also seen the definitive lines as a base for subsequent evaluation practiced in verbal criticism and irony, he may have purposefully put forth a visual hypothesis, expecting it to be altered through critical dialogue.
Guimard, Hector (1867–1942)
Design for a chimney (Cheminée et troumeau pour Castel-Beranger), c. 1897, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, INV.GP 508, Cl. 11438, 7 × 9.5 in, Ink on paper.
Hector Guimard was born in Lyons and left at the early age of fifteen to study at the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs. He attended the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris before building numerous houses in the Auteuil quarter of Paris. The project that launched his career was the apartment building Castel Béranger (1894–1898), featuring a façade of various materials and proficient use of ironwork. At this crucial point in his career (1894–1895) he traveled to England, obtaining extensive knowledge of the works of the English designers Voysey and Crane. He also visited Art Nouveau buildings in Belgium, met with Victor Horta, and viewed the Tassel House under construction. Guimard saw the Belgian architects' use of cast iron and how these techniques emphasized lightness and line (Dunster, 1978).
In step with other Art Nouveau artists, Guimard was interested in expressing the forces of nature with repetitive graceful lines, often replicating masks and seahorses (Van Vynckt, 1993). Although Guimard did not write extensively about his work, he adhered to three principles that guided his design: logic (the conditions), harmony (the context and requirements), and sentiment (combining logic and harmony to find expression) (Dunster, 1978). His architectural work has been most identified with the Metro Station entrances he designed for Paris, completed in 1901. Other projects of renown include the Ecole du Sacré-Coeur, finished in 1895, the Humbert de Romans Concert Hall, and numerous domestic projects.
Guimard's interpretation of Art Nouveau integrated decoration, structure, and form; he was particularly concerned with the qualities of line. The critic Henri Frantz wrote that Guimard's use of ornament avoided borrowing directly from natural forms but rather '... he gets all his effects from the use of “line” or combinations of lines' (Dunster, 1978, p. 9). Consistent with this philosophy, this sketch for a chimney and pierglass for his office depended entirely on lines (Figure 5.6). It shows nervous parallel lines defining one half of the fireplace. Guimard used these lines to profile the form, concentrating on the edges, thus avoiding texture or massing. Sketched very quickly, the pen marks become squiggles or snap back on themselves – a sort of 'whiplash' ornamentation. These lines overlap and intersect as Guimard realized the curve imagined in his mind's eye, or refined the curve once viewed. Called by Ernst Gombrich 'making and matching,' this comparison causes the repetition of the parallel marks as he critically assesses one line and responded with another to correct it (1989, p. 29).
The inherent qualities of the media are united with Guimard's conceptual approach. The flowing veins of ink mimic the fluid movements of decoration, suggesting that the rendering technique itself may have informed the outcome of the architecture. The undulating movement of the strokes may have drawn themselves as much as being created by Guimard. Similar to a doodle, a line begun is easy to continue. The curved lines may reflect the gesture of his hands relying on the forms of nature to guide him. To the lower left of the sketch is a contorted face, giving this portion of the page an eerie, anthropomorphic quality. The abstraction of the wide mouth and large eye reveals how the Art Nouveau artists induced associative expression. The overall appearance of the sketch is sparse, providing only the necessary information. Considering the exuberance of ornament practiced by the Art Nouveau artists, this study maintains a noticeably more restrained attitude.
Lutyens, Edwin Landseer (1869–1944)
Design for Viceroy's House, RIBA, Lutyens [58] 73, Graphite on paper
Edwin Lutyens was born in London; his family moved to the countryside of Surrey when he was a child. After attending the South Kensington School of Art, with little education in architecture he began to work for the architect Ernst George in 1887. Leaving to start his own practice in 1889, he began with small domestic projects.
Peter Inskip, in David Dunster's collection of essays on Lutyens, writes that Lutyens' architecture, especially his country houses, replicated historical imagery and was influenced by the work of his contemporaries, including Richard Norman Shaw (1986). Incorporating elements of the vernacular, these domestic projects reflected the Tudor and classical baroque, some with castle-like romantic references. Building for newly rich Edwardians, Lutyens designed smaller estates that evoked manor houses of the previous century. Many of these houses displayed axial and processional siting, employing long drives and dramatic vistas. A distinctive feature included the extension of the house externally into baroque, geometrically organized gardens (Dunster, 1986). Some of his more celebrated house projects include Ednaston Manor, house and farm buildings for W. G. Player; Marshcourt, a house for Herbert Johnson, and Gledstone Hall, a house for Sir Amos Nelson.
Lutyens designed governmental projects in India between 1912 and 1939 and held the position of chief architect for the imperial capital at New Delhi, collaborating on the layout of the city with Herbert Baker. Concerning the design for the Viceroy's House in New Delhi, he felt it necessary to build with English classical proportions but adapted it to the regional climate (Irving, 1981).
These study sketches (Figure 5.7) for the Viceroy's House express techniques typical of Lutyen's design process. On folded grid paper, this page seems to have been approached from all sides, suggesting that he rotated the paper, looking for the next available space to continue his exploration. The page is comprised of partial plans, preliminary elevations, details and perspectives. Lutyen's pencil techniques reveal how he handled the various aspects of the building with a certain analytical evenness. Evidenced by the fact that each sketch has been studied with similar size and amount of detail. Lutyen's needed to quickly refer to a three-dimensional view; so fast, in fact, that the windows were rendered as thicker marks. Other parts, such as the plans, were slow and deliberate, as he made small changes in reaction to what he was perceiving. This displays both his comfort with the media and how easily the sketches conveyed necessary information. The graphite technique shows relatively small consistent lines delineating an amount of realism. It is as if he had much of the general form of the building in mind and was working out the specific look for the project. His sketching skills were highly developed, which is expected considering his father's occupation as an artist. His belief in the role of sketches surfaces as he delineates every aspect of the building, down to doorway details and connections. Without erasures, the pencil seems to be an extension of his hand as he moved easily between views. It appears that he sketched as fast as he could imagine or make decisions. The sketches represent the same stage of development and reference, both inside and out. They are executed with primarily the same line weight, since he did not stop to change media or test a finished solution. They reveal his concentration while drawing, evaluating what he imagined in three dimensions viewing the building in its totality. Not at all restrained, he was deeply engrossed in a dialogue with the sketches, pondering and reworking, while reacting to their communications.
Horta, Victor (1861–1947)
Sketch of the main concert hall, SOFAM, XVIII. 15.24, 27.6 × 21.9cm, Graphite and ink on paper
Victor Horta's architectural style characterizes the relatively short period of Art Nouveau, manifest primarily in Europe at the turn of the twentieth century. Although employing the sinuous lines of the style, ‘Horta's vital imagery was inspired by nature but it never imitated natural shapes’ (Borsi and Portoghesi, 1991, p. 13). Intent upon influencing behavior, his emotional freeform vines and floral shapes contain such elements as tangential connections, folding, rhythm, and a dialogue of contrasting materials such as glass and iron (Borsi and Portoghesi, 1991). Since the Art Nouveau movement intended to provide an ‘introduction of feeling’ to architecture, Horta also regarded comfort as an important aspect of civilization. He considered issues such as ventilation and central heating, all integrated into the flexible layout of rooms and the efficient and innovative use of materials (Borsi and Portoghesi, 1991).
Horta was born in Ghent, Belgium, in 1861. He began his education at the Ghent Academy and finished his studies at the Académie des Beaux Arts in Brussels, 1881. His office education included several years with the architect Jean Dubuysson in Paris. In addition to his private practice, Horta taught and administrated programs in architecture at the Université Libre in Brussels and the Académie des Beaux Arts in Brussels. The Tassel House launched his career, followed by such projects as the Autrique House (1893), the Hô tel Solvay (1900), the L'Innovation Department Store in Brussels, the Musée des Beaux Arts, Tournai, (1903–1928), the Halle Centrale which was the main railway station in Brussels, and his largest project, the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels (1920–1928).
Horta was first invited as a consultant for the Palais des Beaux Arts (Figure 5.8), an exhibition space and concert hall for the city of Brussels. He was eventually requested to provide a design for the project and finally was commissioned in 1919 for the construction of the building that began in 1922 (Aubry and Vandenbreeden, 1996). Horta had extensive knowledge of acoustics and an affinity for music. This attraction was evidenced by the strong rhythms of his architecture; in fact, he had attended the Académie de Musique prior to his interest in architecture (Aubry and Vandenbreeden, 1996). His concern for acoustics also showed in his design of the ceiling planes, and hidden lighting and ventilation systems.
This section shows how Horta visually studied the reverberation angles and distances of the concert hall. The freehand sketch consists of a simple outline describing the negative space of the hall. The structure and construction details have been eliminated in favor of the interior space necessary for acoustic control. The outline has been drawn in ink and the reverberation angles in graphite. Horta has placed a piano on the stage as the sound source and origin of the lines bouncing off various surfaces. Reacting to the calculated reflection of the sound, he was considering altering the bank of seating. A similar response, which led to the lowering of the ceiling over the stage, has also been presented in pencil. Despite its spare quality, the sketch provided sufficient information to assist in visualization. This concert hall, studied at a time before digital computing, required that the reverberation angles be comprehended visually; later in the history of acoustics, models have been used to mimic sound reflection with beams of light. He was able, using near ninety-degree angles, to provide the necessary information with accuracy. The sketched diagram supplied him the visual artifact to design a space primarily sound sensitive.
Ito, Chuta (1868–1954)
Sketch of gate of Shrine Shinobazu Bentendo Tenryumon, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan, Graphite on grid paper, 1914
Primarily an architectural historian, Chuta Ito is best known for his documentation of Japan‘s historical temples and monuments. Ironically, Ito was born the same year Japan established a parliament to initiate an open international policy. The Meiji reign led Japan to exchange culture and ideas that resulted in a style of architecture blending European aesthetics with Japanese construction and materials (Stewart, 1987).
Ito, originally from Yonezawa, Dewa Province (Yamagata Prefect), attended the School of Engineering at Tokyo Imperial University, completing in 1892. Upon finishing he entered graduate studies in architectural history, receiving a doctorate in 1901. Ito joined academia (School of Engineering) becoming a Full Professor in 1905. In the late 1890s, he prepared a survey of the buildings of Japan's oldest Temple, Horyuji at Nara. In 1898, he published the Horyuji kenchikuron ‘Discourse on the architecture of Horiuji’ discussing his findings of the construction, proportions and decoration of the temple (Turner, 2000). A member of Japan's Society for the Preservation of Ancient Shrines and Temples beginning in 1896, he also received the Cultural Medal of Japan in 1943. Additionally a practicing architect, his work includes Okura Shukokan Museum 1927; Memorial Hall for the Earthquake of 1923, 1930; and the Main Hall of the Temple Tsukiji Honganji, 1934, all located in Tokyo. Ito retired from academia in 1928 (Turner, 2000).
As an example of the careful recording of traditional monuments, this page (Figure 5.9) displays details of the gate of the shrine called Shinobazu Bentendo Tenryumon. An example of a series of studies this image was concerned with drawing as a means to observe and ultimately understand. Different than a design sketch to discover ideas and form though design, this sketch was used to uncover meaning. That meaning could have included historical analysis of materials, construction techniques, or symbolism.
This group of details has been studied on grid paper supposedly to comprehend and accurately record measurement, scale and proportions. The scale running up the left side of the paper has been divided into equal units and numbered to sixteen. The grid could also assist Ito to keep lines straight and to comparatively proportion objects, although these pieces were not sketched in the same scale. The roof exhibits decorative objects that have been sketched at a larger size to better understand their detail. To better understand its form the dragon/chimera was rendered three times, once in context, as a profile, and in three-quarters view.
The graphite technique used by Ito is meticulous, revealing fine detail and showing slight corrections to achieve the viewed angles and curves. The transfer from the three-dimensional object to the paper reveals a dedicated observer. This relocation has been accomplished entirely freehand but was facilitated by the grid lines.
The fastidious manner of the image suggests its importance as a device to hold a memory for posterity, an image to remain even if the original was damaged. Undoubtedly the sketch was also meant for study, to compare form and composition to other temples. Analysis often separates distinctive elements for individual inspection. Here the act of drawing helped him to thoroughly understand and the accuracy was vital for a scholarly discussion. As a sketch, this page was preparatory for something else, most likely the discourse of speculation. The study was intended for his own conclusions but it contained the added importance of helping to educate others. The sketch represented a phase in the process, one that could have sparked an unusual relationship between parts or stimulated an insightful discovery.
Hoffmann, Josef (1870–1956)
Synagogue in Galizien, Kupferstichkabinett der Akademie der bildenden Künste, Inv.-Nr. 26.315, 1914, 15 × 26cm, Pencil
A founding member of the Secessionist movement in Vienna, Josef Hoffmann exemplified the Austrian decorative style in both architecture and design. He was born in 1870 in Moravia (now the Czech Republic). Upon finishing his studies in architecture at the Academy of Art in Vienna he was awarded the Rome Prize in 1895. Subsequently, he began a long association with Otto Wagner, including sporadic employment in Wagner's office over the years. Hoffmann's most enduring legacy was his role in founding and supporting several artists’ workshops, including the Wiener Werkstötte (1903), Kunstschau (1908–1909), Austrian Werkbund (1910) and the Künstlerwerkstötte (1943–1956).
Much of his architecture was designed for exhibitions, such as the Austrian pavilion Werkbund Exhibition (1913–1914). His early buildings include the Moser and Moll Houses (1901–1903) and the Palais Stoclet (1905–1911). Many of these homes were designed for wealthy clients, with interiors that exploited surface and ornament (Gresleri, 1981). Hoffmann abandoned traditional Austrian interiors and substituted a new style, although not the stark modernist compositions of the international style (Noever, 1992).
Associated with Olbrich and the artists of the Secession, Hoffmann's early work embraced the emerging movements of Art Nouveau and Jugendstil. Although his later work became more austere, Hoffmann continued to work on decorative designs when architects around the world had adopted the international style (Noever, 1992).
This sketch (Figure 5.10) is an outline of an elevation. It was a preliminary design for a 1914 competition, a synagogue in Sillein (Zilina). One of many alternatives in Hoffmann's search for form, the building has a steeply roofed dome surrounded by a vertically paneled wall.
In viewing many of Hoffmann's sketches, similarities surface. He often sketched on grid paper, supposedly to help with proportion, measuring, or the maintenance of straight lines. As an added effect of drawing on grid paper, most of his sketches have been composed in elevation. Small, precise alternatives had been drawn in successive rows, providing many possible combinations of form. Unsuccessful solutions were crossed out.
The technique of these sketches reveals lines that appear slow and deliberate; as a result, they become slightly wavy. Typical of Hoffmann's sketching style, this proposal reflects a lack of architectural materiality and is devoid of shading or detail. The exceptions are vertical lines on the roof and a few stippled marks on the walls. This purposeful sketching technique suggests a contemplative approach rather than an expressive exuberance. The implication is that Hoffmann was treating the sketch as if it was a work of art, or as a substitute for finished documentation. It may have been necessary to complete the sketch before he was able to evaluate its merit. This assumption is reinforced by the aforementioned preliminary sketches, also finished to this same degree. Other architects might reject an idea and proceed to another sketch, while Hoffmann was methodically pondering the whole before eliminating a solution. Since this sketch was not a commission but a competition, Hoffmann needed to see how it ‘looked’ before developing the scheme.
As an artist and designer of household objects, Josef Hoffmann was most likely accustomed to viewing the whole. A teapot, lamp, or chair could be precisely evaluated throughout the design process. Since architecture depends on drawing conventions, Hoffmann may have felt more comfortable bringing the idea to a relative conclusion. This reflective approach to sketching gave him time for consideration.
Greene, Charles Sumner (1868–1957)
Greene, Henry Mather (1870–1954)
Rough sketches of window details, G. Lawrence Stimson House, 1907, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, NYDA.1960.001.03708, 12.4 × 10.2cm, Pencil on paper
Buildings by the firm of Greene and Greene, Charles and Henry, are some of the best examples of Arts and Crafts architecture in the United States. Born outside of Cincinnati, the brothers’ early education involved the crafts of woodworking, carpentry, metalwork, and tool-making at the Manual Training School of Washington University, St. Louis. After finishing a two-year course at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1891, they both entered architectural apprenticeships in Boston. Following their parents’ move to California, they arrived in Pasadena in 1893. In the course of their trip across the United States, they attended the Columbia Exposition and saw the replica of the Ho-o-do of Byodo-in Temple at Uji (Current and Current, 1974; Makinson, 1977). This example of Japanese architecture would be later reflected in their use of woodwork joinery.
Their most celebrated project was a house for the David Gamble family (1907–1909). Completely designed and furnished by the architects, the house was constructed almost entirely of wood. The roof features shingle shakes and large eaves expressing exposed wood joists. The wood interior revealed the Greenes’ concern for craftsmanship, with built-in cabinets and intricate joinery construction of the staircase.
Consistent with other architects of the Arts and Crafts, the Greenes worked closely with their craftsmen and builders. The abundance of forests and woodworking traditions in the United States facilitated their almost spiritual use of wood. The architectural theorist Reyner Banham stated that Greene and Greene represent craftsmanship to the extreme, considering every joint was articulated and the interior was ‘like a cabin of a wooden ship’ (Makinson, 1977, p. 22). Although suggesting an element of socialism, these houses were expensively crafted for the rich.
This page (Figure 5.11) demonstrates the Greenes concern for details and joinery. It is a series of studies for a window frame, sash and sill, where numerous section sketches explore the interrelation-ship of materials. Calculations have been scattered across the sheet, written from various sides of the page, and notes show down the margins. This may suggest that the sketch was passed between several people as a dialogue or the sketches were worked on intermittently. Most likely this sketch reflects Henry's hand, since he was the partner most interested in the tectonics of building. The crowding of the notes point to a search for an empty space in which to write, where the architect was concerned with the proximity to the visual description. Without the aid of a scale or straight edge, the specific numerical measurements imply a certain precision. This may suggest that the window detail could have been assembled from this sketch. A window frame was a common detail a contractor could have easily constructed but this study shows the Greenes’ concern for design of the whole and control over the process.
With the extensive notes and measurements, this sketch may represent both a memory device and a medium to work through the construction of a detail. The sill has been rendered in the most pertinent place, where several different elements meet. The rest of the window frame uses cut lines only briefly to indicate the whole sash. The pieces have been identified by various methods in order to indicate their differences, some have been stippled or textured. The sketch, including both diagrams (the visual) and notes (the written), magnifies the idea that neither communication would suffice on its own. Together, they sufficiently describe the complex combination of pieces.
NOTES
1. Discussion with Dr. Renata Kassal-Mikula, Curator of the Historisches Museum, Vienna.
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