Jennifer Polidano 361795M

Lecture 1 Selected Text Summaries

The Tall Office Building Artistically Considered
by Louis Sullivan, 1896

This text is about the problems brought by the need for high-rise office
buildings, from a design point of view, and the need for solutions to be found.
Sullivan begins by listing the social, economic and spacial reasons high-rise
buildings have become a necessity, and the construction technologies that
have made buildings of such height possible.
The main issue, identified by Sullivan, with these tall buildings is how such
huge, high buildings can be made to appear elegant and to fit in with their
surroundings.
Sullivan states that it is of the very essence of every problem that it contains
its own solution, and that he believes this to be a law. He therefore proceeds
to list the typical requirements for each part of a high-rise office building, and
explains how each of these requirements give a clear idea of how all the
elements must be designed. After fulfilling all individual design requirements,
the architect free to express his own vision and emotion when bringing the
design together as a whole.
Sullivan reflects on the unity of life and form and the efficiency with which
nature adapts its forms to necessity while still retaining visual balance and
elegance. This reflection leads him to state that nature itself shows us that
form follows function.
Sullivan concludes that the design of a high-rise office building can be divided
into three stages; the design of the first two storeys, the design of the office
floors, and the design of the attic. He predicts that by designing to fulfill a
need, architecture can become a living art form because it will be of the
people, for the people, and by the people.

AUD 1201

Jennifer Polidano 361795M

A Chapter on Construction and Design of Modern Furniture

by Henry Van de Velde, 1897

Van de Velde opens this text by stating that his method of designing using
reason and rationality is what sets him apart in his occupational field, and that
he is happy to be unique for his reason. He emphasizes the importance of
beginning a design process by identifying an aim to be achieved.
Van de Velde aims for his designs to allow the possibility of mass-production
and hopes for his work to benefit as large a number of people as possible. For
this to work, shapes and decoration, which cannot easily be manufactured,
must be eliminated from modern designs. This will also increase the ease with
which modern furniture may be used. Design for mass-production also limits
the kinds of materials that can be used as well as the cost of the finished
product, thus satisfying Van de Veldes wish for his designs to be available to
a great number of people.

An Innovator, - Victor Horta

by Thiebault-Sisson, 1897

This text is written by Thiebault-Sisson who praises the bold new inventions
and deeply personal art of Belgian architect Victor Horta.
Thiebault-Sisson uses Hortas design of the Tassel house in the Rue de
Turin as an example of his great designing abilities. The author praises the
Hortas use of light and space that give an open feel to the house, and the
care that Horta took in his design.
The author also points out that rather than developing and repeating his own
style, with each of his designs Horta creates a new style to suit the needs and
personality of the owner. Thus Hortas designs only resemble each other in
the care he takes to use every feature of the design to complement the client.
Horta uses subtle shapes derived from nature to further complement his
design without diverting attention from the purpose for which the design was
created.

AUD 1201

Jennifer Polidano 361795M

Where are we Going?

by S. Bing, 1897-8

In this text, the author S. Bing questions the direction in which modern interior
design is heading and acknowledges the time of great artistic change. Bing
questions whether new design movements will be influenced by those of the
past or whether they will be completely alien to those that came before them.
He questions what will influence new design and in turn what effects the new
design movements will have.
Bing believes that one must identify and overcome obstacles to creativity
before a new design movement can be formed whilst expressing concern that
excessive amounts of new ideas can also obstruct this process. He discusses
the idea that art must spring from necessity and that during the period in
which the text was written, when great industrial and economic advances
were occurring, this was the main influence to design. At the time artists were
aiming to design for mass-production, as this was a new rapidly growing
opportunity for artist and designers to independently earn their own living.
Bing expresses the importance of keeping both Practical Art and Art for Arts
Sake alive, as although Practical Art was proving to be a greater source of
income for artists, the beauty of art created simply for aesthetic enjoyment
should not be lost.

AUD 1201