This document discusses postmodern architecture and its relationship to modernism. It provides background on the emergence of postmodernism in the 1960s as a reaction against modern architecture. Postmodernism incorporated historical details and ornamentation rather than strict modernist styles. The document also discusses debates around postmodernism and how its philosophy was applied in different contexts and time periods. It examines questions around defining and distinguishing modern, postmodern and contemporary architectural styles.

1. A discipline…..? Backlash……? The Blatant change……? … … … OR … .Creolization????

2. Postmodernism “ Machine for living” Began as American style whose first examples are generally cited as being from the 1960s Diverse aesthetics, styles collide. Architects & designers felt ‘buildings fail to meet the human need for comfort both for body and for the eye’. unite d habitation Marseilles, le Corbusier Robert venturi – twisted ornamentation Public Services Building- Portland Micheal graves

3. Modern Linear progress in history Boundaries, social class, race and gender Formality, emphasis on authoritarian perspectives Scientific rationality, unified theory of progress Essentialism, seeking “real” essences Grand narrative Prescription Normative Postmodern “ Historicity”, historicization, socio-cultural locatedness of moments in history Critical study of class, race, and gender; uses other perspectives Intertextuality, self-reflexivity, montage, pastiche Signs, image, reproductive social order Local accounts Description Generative, Genealogical, Archaeological

4. Postmodernism Real ……????????? OR sUrReAl…?????? Pablo Picasso Roy Lichtenstein Jackson Poll o ck Roy Lichtenstein

5. Reactions… Etymologically - after “modern”, Which meant, since around 1960s, when the downfall of modernism began, all the construction taking place is post-modern. There, but, has been a particular style of architecture which was borne out of a repulsion against the stark, ornamentation deprived buildings of modernism in around 1970s. Postmodern ARCHITECTURE SINCE THE 1960s: rEACTIONs & rECOVERIEs Recoveries… Against Oversimplification of form. Against the Human experience put to challenge. Against the curtailed Relationship to tradition. Against Abandonment of historical precedents. Against Decline of cities and their public realm. The early 1980s architects - move away from rectilinear designs. Siegfried Giedion - 1961 -evolving text, Space, Time and Architecture . 1961 - the question "Modern Architecture: Death or Metamorphosis?" disenchantment with Modern architecture – postmodernism. Ref : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_architecture and http://www.learn.columbia.edu/ha/html/modern.html

6. Postmodernity hybridization and global cultures globalization overall commodification pastiche cultural colonialism Postmodernism Interaction between the global and the local Evolution……????? Disjunction…..??????

7. World… 1920s – modernism began… 1930s – MOMA –modernism at its zenith. 1940s- 60s – ‘organic modernism’ 1970s – the “box” – “boring”…more eclectic trends 1980s – post modernism triumphant over modernism Fading 20 th century – post modern trend shifted to again an internationally eminent style -… Coming of the 21 st century – did the revivalist philosophy end??? Was the international style not refuted??? Postmodernism India…. 1947 – British left - Indian architecture dropped into an abyss! Dilemma -to bask in the glory of the past or move forward 1950s – government -an active role- revivalist & modernist 1970s - government started encouraging foreign collaborations ( influence of the outside world …) develop local design capabilities parallel with the inflow of imported technology and skills 1980s – architects designing with some association with the past, though, incorporating the new age materials also. Fading 20 th century – growing consciousness to revive our rich heritage. Coming of the 21 st century – image making – have the post independent constructions- rendered a particular style? ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_architecture Ref: http://www.culturopedia.com/Architecture/modarchitect.html and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Construction_Industry

8. Modern….. Postmodern ….. … .Neo–modern … .. contemporary??? Postmodernism Contemporary….the construction today….there are modern buildings, post modern and the neo- modern built forms, being constructed today…how then, do we distinguish between the various styles??? Their particular or “ peculiar ” characteristics…. Postmodern, though can be pondered over and divided under two heads, as under: Postmodern in terms of thought and philosophy Postmodern in terms of time With respect India, the same would be of all the more significant as there has been from the past 50-60 years a constant debate and a rigorous attempt to come up with a distinct style…

9. POST MODERN …. began around 1960s triumphed and flourished over modernism until the last decade of 20 th century and its new thoughts… But does that mean during those years MODERN construction did not take place? OR does it imply that, after the doom of ‘Postmodernism’ set in motion, the eclectic/ assorted approach withered away? The segregation…. THE POST MODERN PHILOSOPHY…. A style which sought to infuse ‘wit, ornament & reference’ to the soulless and bland MODERNIST phase… The elements & references from the past, reintroduced color & symbolism to architecture… THE POST MODERN TIME &TIMELINE…. The time from 1960s to the 1980s saw primarily the post modern buildings… but, there were buildings adhering to the principles of postmodernism, of falling on past for references and picking up ornamental elements for the building facades , even after chronologically “post modernism” had given way to neo-modern .

10. A view… Hotel le-meridian , New Delhi Even with the new age material – said to be a blend of Rajasthani culture and European class Vigyan bhawan, New Delhi Built in the 1960s , the period of post modern construction. Hotel Asoka, New Delhi Architect – B.E.Doctor Material – Stone Lotus temple, Fariburz sabha using the new age material Banked upon a spiritualistic concept In timeline and…

11. A view… STC building , New Delhi Architect -Raj Rewal Material – red & beige sandstone philosophy…. British council library, New Delhi Though in 1990s, suffices the context Refers to the past National archives, New Delhi Architect – cp kukreja Material – Stone, with regards the past Parliament library, New Delhi Context-in tandem with the opulent Lutyens building

12. “ Postmodernism designates a multitude of trends—in the arts, philosophy, religion, technology, and many other areas—that come after and deviate from the many 20th-cent. movements that constituted modernism. Widely debated with regard to its meaning and implications, postmodernism has also been said to relate to the culture of capitalism as it has developed since the 1960s. In general, the postmodern view is accepting of the fragmentation of contemporary existence. Postmodern architecture, in distinction to the view of Modernism as orthodox, austere and formally absolute, is characterized by the incorporation of historical details in a hybrid rather than a pure style, by the use of decorative elements, by a more personal and exaggerated style, and by references to popular modes of building. Practitioners of postmodern architecture emphasizes elements of metaphor, symbol, and content in their thinking and their work. They share an interest in mass, surface colors, and textures and frequently use unorthodox building materials. “ Any of several artistic movements since about the 1960s that have challenged the philosophy and practices of modern arts or literature. In literature this has amounted to a reaction against an ordered view of the world and therefore against fixed ideas about the form and meaning of texts. In its reaction against Modernist ideals, postmodern writing and art emphasize devices such as pastiche and parody and the stylized technique of the antinovel and magic realism.” Postmodern…implication!

13. A view… It could either be a manifestation of the traditional in the modern……. Gandhi smarak sanghralaya, Ahmedabad National crafts museum, Delhi Kala academy, Panaji Cidade De Goa

14. A fusion of modern typology and regional elements… The architect might or might not belong to the city, but the his designs should be as suited to that city as it would respectively suit if he designs not just in the city, where he belongs but as if he has designed for himself, for example , Jawahar Kala Kendra is a 'Jaipur' building, British council library a ‘Delhi’ building and all the other projects do belong in place and time where they have been built. Probe the deep structure of traditional and contemporary architecture - albeit not necessarily exclusive to the city, and rely on his architectural imagination to yet again surprise and delight the viewer with his ideology regarding the site context, on the one hand, and on the other, by accommodate for the ornamentation which would suffice the human aspiration and fantasy an architect can not afford to escape, though, using his sensitivity in a convincing manner, to manipulate its subtle use both to overpower and enhance. Building should be a marriage of art and architecture, achieving an attenuated level of resolution and not just merely slap on a mural on the facade of a building. May be then the globalization trend would not overpowering his work. B.V. Doshi is also another such architect, for the rationalization he employs to justify his design, locates them firmly in the narrative of the Architecture of the city. But the imagery must not be determined by fashionable architectonic gimmicks currently in vogue, for they fail to evoke the past and appear unconvincing. A view…

15. A view… Or… modernity sans style! Hiranandani gardens, Mumbai Le- Meridien, Pune The architecture could be an exhibit of the traditional artworks, the flooring could be an inlay by the accomplished artisans, the upholstery imbibed from the original handicrafts or the other decorations from the most famous of conventional or time honoured patterns and weaves. No matter how many of the aspirations it suffices, no matter how much of accolades it accumulates, no matter the cost on charts it boasts…. Should the constructional aspects not appeal to the senses and just explore and exploit the human whims of initiating intrigue???

16. Post-modernism has many interpretations and no single definition is adequate. Different disciplines have participated in the post-modernist movement in varying ways …. In literature, writers adopt a self-conscious intertextuality sometimes verging on pastiche, which denies the formal propriety of authorship and genre. In commercial terms post-modernism may be seen as part of the growth of consumer capitalism into multinational and technological identity. In architecture, traditional limits have become indistinguishable, so that what is commonly on the outside of a building is placed within, and vice versa. "Its all-embracing nature thus makes post-modernism as relevant to street events as to the “avant garde”, and is one of the major focal points in the emergence of interdisciplinary and cultural studies." (The Prentice Hall Guide to English Literature, Marion Wynne-Davies, ed. First Prentice Hall edition, copyright 1990 by Bloomsbury Publishing Ltd. 812-13) Postmodernism

17. The whim… If its not the human ambition and whim that is dictating the architectural scenario today…. why does the debates of the '50s and '60s appear inconsequential compared to the architectural amorality in vogue today? Or why did in fact, if the human whim not important, the modernist phase so criticized and ultimately condemned?? But, does it then mean, that we forget our own culture completely and give way to an architecture which seems more a product of commodification than of intellect? Amrapali grand, noida – hafeez contractor DLF-Windsor Court-Gurgaon

18. The neighbourhood… The human goals do make all the difference… The human desire of basking in appreciation is not something which can be sufficed, at least without bringing about a difference which would last long after he perishes. Not all get a chance to do the same and those who do, vary in their approach, of achieving the same. Some might get a chance to build and showcase their creative abilities at a grand level. Some on the contrary, might satisfy their wishes by building for their own selves.

19. The neighbourhood… These wishes, fantasies, desires are all not just restricting themselves to individual built forms but also extending their shadow over to the larger context. Hence, at a the community level too, the goals materialize as a an ever lasting race between neighbours to outstand and out shine the others around them. In that regard, the client – the owners, take the charge of ornamenting their buildings by themselves fancying every possible element that shows of wealth and takes them in the pursuit of “the neighbourhood” competition to the next level, to higher pedestal, no matter what it renders to the urban weave they are an incongruent part of.

20. The neighbourhood… The Buffet of the Utterly Ordinary The neighbourhood becomes a tell-tale of the inevitable globalization….. mud structure set in a litchi orchard have been replaced by six plots with individual houses. Today, the orchard is a set of 40 flats owned by a multinational company based in a foreign land. Rising land values and the demand for floor space has doubtlessly put architecture on the fast track of change. But beyond these factors, it is people’s perceptions of style that is propelling this change.

21. What are those perceptions giving way to? Punjabi Baroque Bania gothic Sindhi hacienda Marwari mannerism Or any such blatant “ artistic ” styles evolved of age……

22. What are those perceptions giving way to? Unplanned development No uniformity in design Unauthorised construction Disregard for monuments What do we need?? Plan by an apex authority Integration of heritage sites No incongruency

23. An opinion…. The rules and regulations should not drive away the right of individuals to be different, it must also take into the account the fact, that even if all individuals are the same, the truth that they all aspire for an individualistic view for themselves and want all of their belongings to stand out…. …… and the house being the prime most important aspect of showcasing the same…. Hence, we must try and understand what it was in the first place that lead to such a change of styles…… … .. A change that was welcomed with open arms all around the globe…. … .A change because of which were initiated a numerous debates….

24. A thought…. Talking of the “age of change”…. … since we have been bestowed with the power to think and reason….. Shall we not give this a thought?? The education we received was “modern” or “postmodern”….? Our parents and teachers belong to the “modern” or the “postmodern” age….?? WE belong to “modern” or to the “postmodern”…???

25. Caught in the debate, no less than a “riot”….. SONAM GUPTA