Amazing Post-War Architectural Feats
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Post-war architecture encompasses the buildings built and renovated after the end of World War II. This phase of architecture reflects the changing priorities of our societies and our evolving knowledge of architecture. The architectural feats we’ll discuss today have made a lasting impact on the world of architecture and in the communities they’re located. You can use these examples—each of varying style and purpose—as inspiration for your next design project!
Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House (1951; Plano, Ill.)
The Farnsworth House is located in Plano, Illinois, southwest of the city of Chicago. The building was commissioned by Edith Farnsworth in 1945; designed and built by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe by 1951. The house is an example of what’s known as the International Style of architecture. The International Style of architecture, or Internationalism, is characterized by “an emphasis on volume over mass, the use of lightweight, mass-produced, industrial materials, rejection of all ornament and colour, repetitive modular forms, and the use of flat surfaces, typically alternating with areas of glass,” according to the Getty Research Institute. The building’s flat roof, slab floor, and absolute minimalism contribute to its timelessness.
The Farnsworth House is a perfect example of its style of architecture given its all-white exterior, glass walls, and clean lines. The house was completed with a total budget of $74,000 (which equals about $734,635 in 2020 dollars). Its construction was marred by legal disputes between Farnsworth and Mies concerning additional costs, considering the house was originally budgeted to cost $58,400. The house is 1,500 square feet and features a single bedroom. It is constructed primarily of steel and glass. Mies based his designs on his own philosophy of beinahe nichts, a German phrase which means “almost nothing” and represents his dedication to stripping back his designs to their primary essence.
The house has been the subject of international acclaim since its completion. Mies went on to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his architectural contributions. Paul Goldberger and Blair Kamin, both Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critics, have deemed the Farnsworth House a modern architectural masterpiece. Toshiko Mori, a renowned architect, had this to say about the building: “If you really look at the Farnsworth House, every single detail has a relationship to logic, from the corners to the steel to the cabinets to the grid of the entire structure. There’s this amazing discipline.”
Kahn’s Salk Institute (1965; La Jolla, Calif.)
The Salk Institute for Biological Studies is located in La Jolla, California. The independent, non-profit institute was commissioned by Jonas Salk, the inventor of the polio vaccine, in 1960. The final buildings were designed by Louis Kahn and completed by 1965. The buildings were originally one aspect of an entire campus intended to be built on the twenty-seven acre site. The other two portions—a conference center and living space—were never built. The institute consists of two laboratory buildings placed symmetrically on either side of a long, thin, travertine-paved fountain. The fountain flows toward the ocean and thus faces the sunset. It is one of the most defining characteristics of the build.
The building is fashioned out of a refined concrete, with its internal vents and ducts also supported by concrete reinforcements. The concrete mixture included volcanic ash—which gives the buildings a pink-tinted glow—and was formulated using ancient Roman techniques. The individual laboratories inside of the buildings are open-plan and no walls separate the labs on each floor. This open design plan was meant to facilitate cooperation between researchers and Kahn was rumored to have been inspired by monasteries (which allow for both collaborative and individual study).
The building was designated a historic landmark in 1991 and received the prestigious American Institute of Architects’ Twenty Five Year Award in 1992. Annabelle Seldorf, another renowned architect, had this to say about the design of the institute: “I’m emphatic about the intelligence Kahn brought in making places for people to come together in the labs, but also in little monastery-like cocoons or cells. There is this structural concept that’s rather brilliant and belies the simplicity that you experience.”
Bo Bardi’s SESC Pompéia (1986; São Paulo)
The SESC Pompéia is located in São Paulo, Brazil. The cultural center was commissioned by the Social Service of Commerce (SESC), an organization of business leaders founded for the purpose of providing their employees with free community spaces, in 1977. The rehabilitation of an old factory in the neighborhood of Pompéia and the addition of two new buildings were designed by Italian-Brazilian architect Lina Bo Bardi. Construction of the entire project was completed in 1986, nearly a decade after its inception.
In her effort to adapt an industrial space, Bo Bardi sought to maintain a number of the existing characteristics of the factory. In this aspect, her efforts constituted a rehabilitation of the space, rather than a renovation. For more on the difference between those renovation and rehabilitation, as well as restoration, read our essay on Maintaining the Historical Legacy of a Building During the Renovation Process. Due to its concrete construction and harsh-seeming exterior, the SESC Pompéia is considered to be of the brutalist style of architecture. The Brutalist style of architecture is defined by minimalist designs which showcase the building material and an emphasis on structural elements over decorative elements.
Bo Bardi opened up the interior by removing a majority of its walls. Instead of hard lines, she favored erecting structures which could act as partitions, including a concrete structure which separated the main room into a library, exhibition space, and lounge (with a fireplace and river which are accessible in each space). She facilitated the winding river by etching a pool cut into the factory’s concrete floor. From scratch, Bo Bardi designed the two structures placed at the back of the factory. Each structure is five floors and constructed from concrete. Reddish, globular windows stare out from each formidable face and pedestrian walk-ways connect the two towers which would otherwise stand alone. Housed inside of these complexes are sports centers, theaters, exhibition spaces, restaurants, pools and more. The Pompéia still serves its original purpose, which is to be a refuge of leisure in a cramped, bustling city.
Nikil Saval, a contributor for the New York Times had this to say about the SESC Pompéia in São Paulo: “I just think this is a really joyous building: There’s this combination of exuberance and monumentality.”
From Farnsworth’s elegant minimalism hidden away in the rural woodlands of Illinois, to SESC Pompéia’s surreal brutalism looming large over the city of Sao Paulo, we’ve covered a distinct range of styles which have been recognized by the international architectural community since the resolution of the Second World War. We hope these examples act as inspiration for your next design project. Though you may not be building to the scale of the Salk Institute, or have a budget which rivals the Farnsworth House, certain elements of design can be translated to any scale and any budget.
For more information on architectural design and building, keep up-to-date with the Architecture Plus blog! Our next few articles on what to look for in an architect and the future of residential architecture are sure to be wonderful resources! If you’re ready to sit down with an experienced team of designers and hash out the elements of your next project, reach out to us! We’re eager to hear from you. Until next time, thank you for reading!