Art Deco had only a temporary life in the late 1920s and the 1930s. The designs tended to be geometric, in keeping with the severe geometry of the new architecture. which in turn seemed to many to need some kind of decorative relief.
Art Deco could also be based on natural form. Whether floral, Animal, or human, this usually was simplified and stylized until it worked agreeably with the surrounding architecture. In the end, however, it was decided that no decoration was best of all, which stripped architecture of one of its richest artistic heritages.
The Chrysler Building rose to a height of just over 1000 feet (305 m). For a brief moment it was the tallest building in the world-until the Empire State Building topped out at 1250 feet (381 m) one year later (Fig. 2724).
The Empire State Building is an archetypal but successful example of the commercialism that beset corporate architecture ac the time. William F. Lamb (1883-1952), one of the designers. freely admitted that all handwork was eliminated because it was cost-effective to do so. Nevertheless, the building proved that the skyscraper did not need decoration such as that found on the Tribune Tower to be successful. In fact, it showed that the beauty of a building can reside in its design, exquisite craftsmanship, and materials, rather than in applied decoration.
The Empire State Building, constructed of stone and steel, is of a simpler, bolder, more massive form than the Chrysler Building. From its base, a tasteful setback scheme allows a fine transition into the shaft of the tower. At the very top, the spire is itself an extension of the architectural form. The vertical accent is carried the full height of the eighty-five- story building by the rib system used on all four sides.
加利福尼亚学派——住宅建筑设计
硕果累累的几年
莱特定居在威斯康星州的家庭农场,这农场在Spring Green附近,并在1911开始在塔利辛建立他的often-remodeled之家和工作室。他在芝加哥建立中途岛花园(1913),里面有条惬意休闲的拱廊,几年后在东京他忙于设计抗震帝王大酒店。在1920年代,莱特在加利福尼亚建造了一批别墅,源^自!751/文-论/文*网[www.751com.cn,完成工作之后他返回日本。他在帕萨迪纳的米勒德的建造了一所房子(1923),其墙壁可作为装饰屏风,是其著作中最著名的。在30年代中期,莱特关注的是他自己称作莱特美国风的homes-modest和相对造价低的住宅。在这些建筑中往往是他预制装配的一个自己动手的工程。第一个建在威斯康星州麦迪逊的赫伯特雅可布别墅(1936),是一个很好的例子。
流水别墅
尽管其他行业都受到了上世纪30年代的大萧条的影响,法兰克·劳埃德·莱特的职业生涯却在1937年凭借创造的流水别墅和他的著作the Kaufmann House-one经历了复苏。
在熊奔溪旁边,有一座用天然基岩做壁炉的强调有机环境的房子崛地而起。在一个石头构成的巨大壁炉周围,那里空间开放,有种自由的感觉,与天然石材壁炉呈现了一个有趣的对比。在房子内部和繁茂树木之间的玻璃墙,给人一种统一的感觉。水平线,几何平面,和具体形式都决定了的建筑场所,是通过建立跨轴和悬臂来体现其丰富的建筑形式和空间。悬挑阳台凸出到树木茂密的地方让人觉得有人站在树林里或小瀑布上,同时仍然是房屋的内部结构。
在美国很少有其他的房子是以传统思维设计的,很少有这样一个成熟形式的现代的房子了。温暖的人文素质,莱特的作品明显如此。例如,流水别墅与20世纪30年代的包豪斯设计,或与柯布西耶在法国萨沃耶(1929)的“居住的机器”的别墅的差别。
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