Topics+of+Interest

=** [|Organic architecture] **=

is a philosophy of [|architecture] which promotes harmony between human habitation and the natural world through design approaches so sympathetic and well integrated with its site that buildings, furnishings, and surroundings become part of a unified, interrelated composition. Architects [|Gustav Stickley], [|Antoni Gaudi], [|Louis Sullivan], [|Frank Lloyd Wright], [|John Lautner], [|Claude Bragdon], [|Bruce Goff], [|Rudolf Steiner], [|Bruno Zevi], [|Hundertwasser], [|Imre Makovecz], [|Neville Gruzman] and most recently [|Anton Alberts], [|Nari Gandhi], [|John Preihs] and [|Laurie Baker] are all famous for their work with organic architecture. Organic architecture is also translated into the all inclusive nature of Frank Lloyd Wright’s design process. Materials, motifs, and basic ordering principals continue to repeat themselves throughout the building as a whole. The idea of organic architecture refers not only to the buildings' literal relationship to the natural surroundings, but how the buildings' design is carefully thought about as if it were a unified organism. Geometries throughout Wright’s buildings build a central mood and theme. Essentially organic architecture is also the literal design of every element of a building: From the windows, to the floors, to the individual chairs intended to fill the space. Everything relates to one another, reflecting the symbiotic ordering systems of nature. The term organic architecture was coined by the famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959), though never well articulated by his cryptic style of writing: "So here I stand before you preaching organic architecture: declaring organic architecture to be the modern ideal and the teaching so much needed if we are to see the whole of life, and to now serve the whole of life, holding no traditions essential to the great TRADITION. Nor cherishing any preconceived form fixing upon us either past, present or future, but instead exalting the simple laws of common sense or of super-sense if you prefer determining form by way of the nature of materials..." - Frank Lloyd Wright, written in 1939[|[1]] Other modernist architects in the U.S., Europe, and elsewhere held complementary and often competing views of how architecture could best emulate nature. Key figures in the U.S. included [|Louis Sullivan] and [|Claude Bragdon], while among European modernists [|Hugo Haring] and [|Hans Scharoun] stand out. Following World War II, organic architecture often reflected cybernetic and informatic models of life, as is reflected in the later work of [|Buckminster Fuller]. Architect and planner David Pearson proposed a list of rules towards the design of organic architecture. These rules are known as the //[|Gaia Charter]// for organic architecture and design. It reads: "Let the design:
 * be inspired by nature and be sustainable, healthy, conserving, and diverse.
 * unfold, like an organism, from the seed within.
 * exist in the "continuous present" and "begin again and again".
 * follow the flows and be flexible and adaptable.
 * satisfy social, physical, and spiritual needs.
 * "grow out of the site" and be unique.
 * celebrate the spirit of youth, play and surprise.
 * express the rhythm of music and the power of dance



**//El Croquis Magazine //**

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**//Sejima and Nishizawa Win 2010 Pritzker Prize //**
// Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, partners of Tokyo-based Sejima and Nishizawa and Associates, better known as SANAA, will receive the 2010 Pritzker Prize. The firm’s buildings, characterized by their minimal material palette, spare details, and fluid spatial organization, were praised by the jury as places where “the physical presence retreats and forms a sensuous background for people, objects, activities, and landscapes.” //

[|Architectural Record]