Archigram

Archigram is an avant-grade architectural group formed in the 1960s. It is neofuturistic, anti-heroic and pro-consumerist, drawing inspiration from technology in order to create a new reality that was solely expressed through hypothetical projects. Peter Cook, Warren chalk, Ron Heron, Dennis Crompton, Michael Webb and David Greene formed this group together. They created their expressions of pop graphics and collages making reference to images from the period's advertisements and science fiction comics. Their aim was to prevent modernism from becoming a sterile and safe orthodoxy by its adherents.

Design Methodology

Publishing Theory articles in their magazines, in addition of plenty pictures and posters to express their unique architectural ideas and concepts.

Inspiration- Antonio Sant'elia (Futuristic Architecture)

Buckminster Fuller (Futuristic Architecture Geodesic Dome)

Yona Friedman (Mobile Architecture)

Philosophically, two things are striking about the move 'beyond architecture':

• One is the ambition to transcend all social convention (including politics and conflict) through relentless cybernetic modification.

• Second is the likelihood that, pitched in opposition to the supposed idealism of mainstream modernism.

• Archigram placed the brave new world of systems at the service of Beat lifestyle.

Projects

1. Plug-in-City, Peter Cook, 1964

It offered a fascinating new approach to urbanism, reversing traditional perceptions of infrastructure's role in the city.

2. The Walking City, Ron Herron, 1964

In a world where people live more mobile lifestyles than they have for centuries, their citizens move away. The design expands on the Walking City by including strong proposals for energy generation on board the city.

3. Instant City

Explored the possibilities of contaminating the monotonous urban life of smaller cities with the most exciting contemporary urbanity by means of perspective activation of their inhabitants.

Conclusion

By 1972, Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown could no longer take Archigram seriously. Although Archigram successfully restored avant- gardism in the expectation of giving modernism a new lease of life, placing technology center stage again, it was also the main reason why it spurned.

Beyond Horizon in Architecture by Tadao Ando

Tadao Ando is born in 13th September 1941 in Osaka, Japan. He is a Japanese self-taught architect. He opened his office in 1969 in Osaka and become famous when he received Annual Prize of the Architectural Institute of Japan in 1979. His approach to architecture was modernism with influences from traditional Japanese concept caused him to be often referred as a 'critical regionalist'. Concrete is often used in his design. Another characteristic of his architecture is the use of natural element to create strong emotional spaces. His uniqueness in architecture design has resulted him to be one of the Pritzker Price receipients in 1995.

His book, “Toward New Horizon in Architecture” was published in 1991. The critique is the deliberate distancing of his design work from function, quietude derived from simplicity of the form and the introduction of the nature.

Through his architecture, thoughts are supported by abstract logic. Abstract means to signify a meditative exploration that arrives at a crystallization of the complexity and richness of the world, rather than a reduction of its reality through diminishing its concreteness. However, the modernist architecture had became mechanical and the postmodern style attempted to recover the formal richness that modernism appeared to have discarded. According to him, history, taste and ornament need to be utilized and restored to architecture in certain concreteness. The contemporary architecture of the development through and beyond modernism is needed. Therefore, there are 4 main ideologies behind this book, which are

• Transparent logic

• Abstraction

• Nature

• Place

The most important and being the first ideology is the Transparent. Architectural creation involves thinking deeply about the origins and essences of the project’s functional requirements. This inquiry will reveal the special character hidden in a commission and bring attention to the vital role of an intrinsic logic, which can bring the architecture to the realization. For example the envisioning the Chikatsu- Asuka Historical Museum, Osaka. It is a site central to early Japanese history and he realized the important odd establishing an architecture that didn’t mar the grandeur of the existing landscape and also the history of the site.

Second ideology which is the Abstraction, the core of the architecture creation the transformation of the concreteness through transparent logic into spatial order. It is not an eliminative abstraction attempt at the organization of the real around an essential viewpoint. He also pursues precisely that vital union of abstract geometrical form and daily human activity when designing the residence. For example, the Raw Houses (Azuma Residence), Sumiyoshi. The middle section of the house being a courtyard open to the sky. The courtyard is an exterior that fills the interior with is spatial movement reversed and discontinuous. By adding of nature and human life help its abstract existence to achieve the vibrancy in its meeting with the concreteness.

Thirdly, Tadao Ando seeks to instill the presence of Nature within an architecture construction by means of the transparent logic. Such as the Japanese tradition that embraces a different sensibility about the nature, which the element of the nature water, wind, light and sky that connection in architecture with reality and awaken manmade life. The sensibility has formed the culture that de-emphasizes the physical boundary between the residence and surrounding nature For example, the Children’s Museum, Hyogo. He has arranged each other of the architectural elements that allow congenial meetings with the water, forest and sky under the idea conditions,

Lastly, Tadao Ando composes the architecture by seeking an essential logic inherent in the Place. Which responsibility to find and draw out the site’s formal characteristics along with its cultural traditions, climate and natural environmental features. Not only that, he also aspires to transform place through architecture to the level of the abstract and universal that architecture can became the ‘grand art’ in the truest sense. the Rokko Housing - the design idea is to sink the building in along the slope, governing its projection above the ground in order to merge it into the surrounding that cover the dense forest.

Overall, Tadao Ando's main architecture principle stated in this book of 'Beyond Horizon of Architecture' is all surrounding a main concept- Transparent Logic whereby a good design must be created through deep consideration of existing site, spatial requirements, human activities and any special character of the space.

Conclusion

Both these topics are important factors that influence the current trend of architecture design. Archigram is an interesting yet sophisticated ideology that encourage architects to creatively think of solutions to current situation. It is not necessarily applicable but it challenges the human's mind that the ideas are purely imaginations or is it actually the

solution to the problem. On the other hand, Tadao Ando's ideology is an inspiration for so many generations to come due to its simplicity and uniqueness. The importance of his ideologies are the significant determinants of the human relations to nature. I personally think that both Archigram and Tadao Ando are as relevant to current contemporary architecture due to their motive which is to reduce the impact of human's activities towards earth to its minimum.