Deconstructivism - introduction - examples works of Peter Eisenman - Wexner center for arts and house VI ( Frank residence)

1. DECONSTRUCTIVISM
- ANJALI.S
- B.ARCH SEM 6
- 1GQ15AT008

2. INTRODUCTION
• Deconstructivism in architecture, also called deconstruction, is a development of
postmodern architecture that began in the late 1980s.
• It is characterized by -
➢Fragmentation of ideas
➢ Manipulation of a structure's surface or skin
➢ Non-rectilinear shapes which distort and dislocate the architectural elements.
➢Unpredictability
➢ Controlled chaos.
➢Emphasis on complex geometries

3. • Deconstructivists were influenced by the ideas of the French philosopher Jacques
Derrida
• Deconstructivism was influenced by the modernism/postmodernism interplay,
expressionism, cubism, minimalism and contemporary art. it may also have been
influenced by the formal experimentation and geometric imbalances of Russian
constructivism. the attempt in deconstructivism is to move architecture away
from the constricting 'rules' of modernism such as "form follows function," "purity
of form," and "truth to materials."
• Some architects with deconstructivism - Frank Gehry ,Peter Eisenman ,Bernard
Tschumi ,Rem Koolhaas ,Zaha Hadid, Daniel Libeskind ,coop Himmelb
INTRODUCTION

4. PETER EISENMAN

5. INTRODUCTION
• Peter Eisenman was born on August 11, 1932 in
Newark, New Jersey
• He is an American architect.
• INFLUENCES - Eisenman studied architecture
as an undergraduate at Cornell University .The
work of philosopher Jacques Derrida is a key
influence in Eisenman's architecture.

6. ARCHITECTURALTHEORY
• Eisenman's fragmented forms are identified with deconstructivism.
• His theories on architecture are based on the philosophy of deconstructivism.
• His work represents a continued attempt to liberate form from all meaning.
• He currently teaches theory seminars and advanced design studios at theYale School of
Architecture.
• Eisenman first rose to prominence as a member of the NewYork Five Architectural firm.
• Eisenman received a number of grants from the Graham Foundation for work done in this period.
These architects' work at the time was often considered a reworking of the ideas of Le Corbusier.
• Eisenman's focus on "liberating" architectural form was notable from an academic and theoretical
standpoint but resulted in structures that were both badly built and not user friendly.
• Until recently, few of his designs had been built. Most attention has been focused on his
architectural ideas which attempt to create contextually disconnected architecture.
• Eisenman has also embarked on a larger series of building projects in his career. His largest project
to date is the soon-to-be completed City of Culture of Galicia in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

7. ARCHITECTURALWORKS
WEXNER CENTER FOR ARTS, OHIO HOUSEVI (FRANK RESIDENCE), Connecticut

8. WEXNER CENTER FOR ARTS, OHIO
• TheWexner Center was one of the first major public deconstructivism building.
• But it required extensive and expensive retrofitting because of basic design flaws (such as
incompetent material specifications, and fine art exhibition space exposed to direct sunlight).
• It was frequently repeated that theWexner's colliding planes tended to make its users
disoriented.
• TheWexner Center takes the form of the castle, which it then transforms with complexity in a
series of cuts and fragmentations.
• A three-dimensional grid, runs somewhat arbitrarily through the building.
• The modernist grid which represents scaffolding collides with the medieval antiquity of a castle.
• Some of the grid's columns intentionally don't reach the ground, hovering over stairways creating
a sense of unease and contradicting the structural purpose of the column.
• TheWexner Center deconstructs the typology of the castle and renders its spaces and structure
with conflict.

9. Structure and materials
• The steel structure was covered with a skin of red masonry evoking the old building.The
exterior includes a large white metal grid that suggests some kind of armor, which gives
the building a sense of incompleteness. At the front and at the entrance, Eisenman rebuilt
a tower of an old arsenal, then cut it and give an image of disorganization.
• The foundations of the armory were “dug” as an element of the path on the west side of
the site. Among the forms of the building, with solid masses of bricks, the excavated
space is closed with a tinted glass curtain wall with an aluminum mullion allowing passage
of luy and evokes the use of the grid, recurrent in the works Architect.The contrast
created by the anodized aluminum mullions intensifies the depth impenetrable glass.
• The interiors are painted white floors in light wood.

10. WEXNER CENTER FOR ARTS, OHIO
VIEWS

11. WEXNER CENTER FOR ARTS, OHIO
SITE PLAN AXONOMETRICVIEW

12. WEXNER CENTER FOR ARTS, OHIO
SECTION

13. HOUSEVI (FRANK RESIDENCE), Connecticut
• HouseVI, or the Frank Residence, is a significant building designed by Peter Eisenman,
completed in 1975.
• This house is famous for both its revolutionary definition of a house as much as for the
physical problems of design and difficulty of use.
• This design emerged from a conceptual process, and remains pinned to that conceptual
framework.
• Unfortunately, Eisenman's limited construction experience meant that the entire building
was poorly detailed.
• The tiny building took 3 years to build, went completely over budget, and finally had to be
reconstructed in 1987, leaving only the basic structure original.
• The building is meant to be a "record of design process," where the structure that results is
the methodical manipulation of a grid.

14. • Eisenman created a form from the the
intersection of four planes, subsequently
manipulating the structures again and
again, until coherent spaces began to
emerge.
• But the staircase lacks a handrail, there is a
column abutting the kitchen table, and a
glass strip originally divided the bedroom,
preventing the installation of a double bed.
• The house was designed primarily as an
exercise in geometric autonomy.Thus the
house can be turned upside-down and still
function as a house.
HOUSEVI (FRANK RESIDENCE), Connecticut

15. HOUSEVI (FRANK RESIDENCE), Connecticut
FLOOR PLANS

16. HOUSEVI (FRANK RESIDENCE), Connecticut
ELEVATIONS

17. HOUSEVI (FRANK RESIDENCE), Connecticut
SECTIONS