The document outlines the evolution of architectural styles from prehistoric times to the contemporary period, focusing on postmodernism and the contributions of architect Michael Graves. It highlights Graves' departure from modernist principles, emphasizing his humanistic and colorful approach that contrasts with the functional austerity of modernism. Key projects, such as the Portland Building and Denver Public Library, showcase his playful designs and the unique characteristics of postmodern architecture.

2. Michael graves
POST MODERNISM

3. ARCHITECTURAL ERAS
1. 11,600 B.C. to 3,500 B.C. — Prehistoric Times
2. 3,050 B.C. to 900 B.C. — Ancient Egypt
3. 850 B.C. to A.D. 476 — Classical(Greek, roman)
4. 527 to 565 — Byzantine
5. 800 to 1200 — Romanesque
6. 1100 to 1450 — Gothic
7. 1400 to 1600 — Renaissance
8. 1600 to 1830 — Baroque
9. 1650 to 1790 — Rococo
10. 1730 to 1925 — Neoclassicism
11. 1890 to 1914 — Art Nouveau
12. 1895 to 1925 — Beaux Arts
13. 1905 to 1930 — Neo-Gothic
14. 1925 to 1937 — Art Deco
15. 1900 to Present — Modernist Styles
16. 1960to Present—Postmodernism
17. 1997 to Present — Neo-Modernism and Parametricism

4. WHAT IS POST MODERNISM
As the name itself says this is a style or
movement that emerged in 1960s as a
reaction against the modernist modern
that had austerity, formality and lacked
variety.
Particularyly, it was against the
styles advocated by Le Corbusier and
vies Van der Rohe.
The style began around 1960s but only

5. CHARACTERISTICS
• Complexity and contradiction
• Fragmentation- “deconstructivism”
• Asymmetrical and oblique forms
• Color
• Humour and paradox

6. Michael GRAVES
(1934-2015)

9. My favourite project is always the
next
-Michael Graves.

10. Biography
• Michael Graves was born in 1934 in
Indianapolis, Ind., and was drawn to art as
a child. His mother told him that, short of
being better than Picasso, there was no
money in art, and she offered him a
choice between engineering and
architecture. After his mother told him
what engineers do, Graves replied, 'Well, I
guess I'll be an architect.' She responded
that she had not told him what architects
do, but Graves had heard enough to know
he didn't want to be an engineer.

11. BIOGRAPHY- cont..
• He started at the University of Cincinnati and
was noticed for his intricate and detailed
designs. Graves was accepted to Harvard
University in the 1950s. Just after he graduated
in 1959, he won the Rome Prize and traveled to
Italy to study architecture, which left a lasting
impression on him. Upon his return, Graves
began work as an architect with five famous
architects called 'the NewYork Five.'These
architects were inspired by Le
Corbusier's modern design, which dictated that
structures should be clean and functional, not
gaudy and decorated.

12. THOUGHTS
• He practised humanistic approach to
architecture and urban planning.
• To him the structures needed to express
themselves instead of being plain and
monotonous.
• He wanted his architecture to be capables of
being read by anybody.
• Post modenism turned to be a historical
memory…to ornament, as a way of enriching
the language of architecture.”

13. • He wanted the buildings to be legible and a
part of everyday life.
• Keeping basics in mind he created things out
of playful interest without losing its identity.

14. Graves’ early works
• Hansel Mann House (1967–71) in FortWayne,
Indiana, and the addition to the Benacerraf
House (1969) in Princeton, New Jersey.
• opposition to the coldness and rigidity of
that vernacular was rising. At the helm of this
dissention was architect RobertVenturi, who
cleverly contested the venerated words of
Mies by pronouncing, “Less is a bore.”

15. What graves did?
• Hulked buildings
• Deifying austerity
• Elevations that address the site.
• Varied and memorable facades based on
context.
• Cubist interpretation.
• Most importantly it had classical
interpretation.

16. Graves into architecture
• During the 1980s, Graves rejected the
modernism of the NewYork Five and dove into
into postmodern and commercial architecture.
• He was fed up with the uninviting and cold
modernist designs that frowned on decoration
decoration and color as 'unnecessary,' so he set
he set out to capture whimsy, wonder, and
humanness in the spaces he designed.
• Just compare the buildings like Le Corbusier's
Unite d'Habitation with any of Graves' work, and
you will quickly see how Graves was rejecting
the coldness and sterility of modernism.

17. FAMOUS WORKS
• Portland Building (1982)
• Denver Public Library (1995)
• HumanaTower
• GravesWarehouse Residence
• Walt DisneyWorld Dolphin Restaurant
• Walt DisneyWorld Swan Resort
• 425 FifthAvenue Condominiums
• He also designes furnitures and products.

18. The portland building, Portland
• Alternatively referred to as the Portland
Municipal Services Building.
• Built around 1980-1982 is a government office.
• 40,000 square-foot block.
• Cost :USD$29 million
• Consists a total of 15 floors and a height of 71.6m
• It is a distinctive block like design and square.
• Use of sculptural and ornamental designs could
be found.
• Stands in purposeful contrast to the functional
Modernist architecture that was dominant at the

19. THE PORTLAND MUNICIPAL COMPETITION
• The project, aimed to hold the
city’s municipal offices, was
uniquely located adjacent to City
Hall, the County Courthouse and
the Chapman Square Park.
• The young Michael Graves
submitted his ambitious design,
despite his lack of experience.
• Graves’ colourful low-cost design
impressed the jury, who
discarded his competitors' costly
glass and concrete designs, and
awarded Graves the commission,
knowing the design was bound
to put Portland on the map—
which it did.

20. As Graves explains
of his architecture:
it’s “a symbolic
gesture, an attempt
to re-establish a
language of
architecture and
values that are not
a part of modernist
homogeneity.”

21. Cont..
WINDOWS
• Cubical facades treated in the classical
three part divisions or tripartite form with
the base, shaft and cornice
anthropomorphism.
FACADES
• Uses columns as an surface treatment and
defining the cornice or the head of the
building and entrance.
• Facades are symmetrical and linearity
broken by adding vertical band of colo and
windows.
COLORS
• The buildings colors have a touch of nature
where the blue-green base represents the
earth the brown representing a tree and the
lighter blues on top …the skies.
BUDGET
• The extraordinarily low construction budget

22. Cont…
SCULPTURAL ELEMENTS
• These forms are sculptural and somewhat
playful.
• These forms are not reduced to an
absolute minimum; they are built and
shaped for their own sake.
• The building units all fit together in a very
organic way which enhance the effect of
the form.
• It has a typical symmetrical façade which
was the times prevalent throughout
postmodern buildings.
ROOFS
• Roofs of this building are covered with
green roofs, installed in 2006
• It is covered with Sedum spathlifolium an
water observing acting as a helping hand in
the buildings heating and cooling, water

23. CRITICISM
• The interior was judged to be dark, cramped, and poorly
laid out the lobby is narrow and unpleasant, the office
spaces dark and claustrophobic.
• although the design incorporates arcades, which
conventionally provide a sheltered, interstitial space
between the pedestrian and the city, the arcades that line
the three facades of the Portland Building have only two
entries set above street level, making them difficult to
access.
• Structural deficiencies also came to light, which were
partially addressed but still plague the building.
• As of 2014, the extent of future renovation work is still
unclear.
• Aesthetically, the highly-styled elements, such as the
ribbons and medallions, were critiqued as lacking the
dignity of an official government building.

24. Despite….
• Despite its faults,
The Portland building
marked an undoubted
departure from the
monotony of
Modernism. As Graves
playfully explained: “I
thought, ‘Why are they
so upset?’ Modernism
has only given them a
choice between vertical
and horizontal, white,

28. Denver public library
Architects
• Michael Graves
Location
• 1836 High St, Denver, CO 80206, USA
References
• Michael Graves & Associates
Project Year
• 1996

29. • MichaelGraves, one of the most respected
and original minds of post-modern
architecture, was commissioned in 1990 to
renovate and design an extension to
the Denver Central Library.
• Known for his surreal and “entertainment”
architecture;Graves’ implemented traditional
post-modern motifs of abstracted classical
forms, natural materials, and colours
commonly found in past centuries.

30. • The 405,000 s.f.
addition to the
existing library
allows for the
original building
designed by
Burnham Hoyt in
1956 to maintain its
own identity.

31. • So much so that
Graves’ addition and
the original library are
two parts in a larger
composition that are
are connected by a
three story
atrium. The expansive

32. • For a post-modern
building, the interior
of the library is fairly
conservative when it
it comes to the
decorative
aesthetics. Most of
the spaces appear as
traditional library
spaces composed of
natural wood evoking
evoking a sense of

33. • Only in the reading
rooms is there any
trace of the post-
modern aesthetic.
One begins to
understand the
abstracted
colonnades,
vaulting, and
colourful painting
creating more of a
learning

34. • The Denver Central
Library may be one of
the first library’s to
function more than
just a library. In
addition to the
extensive literary
collections, the library
functions as a
community gathering
space consisting of
multipurpose rooms,
meeting facilities,
shops, a café, and a
special “museum-
like” collection on

35. • The Denver Central Library sits affixed in
Downtown Denver as not only an academic
academic institution, but as part of a larger
cultural epicentre.

38. SUMMARISATION

39. Thank you folks!