XIII Международная студенческая научная конференция Студенческий научный форум - 2021

Postmodernism in architecture is a combination of trends that originated in the 1960s, which replaced the prevailing modernism. The lack of pathos, incredibility and irony - it's all about postmodernism, whose representatives break stereotypes and fight for the freedom of fantasy.

The history of postmodernism as an architectural style began in the 70s of the last century. June 15, 1972 in St. Louis, Missouri, when the Pruitt Aigou quarter was destroyed by an explosion, an example of avant-garde architecture that embodied the fundamental values of modernism and utopian urban planning ideas of rationality, functionality and sterility emerged. 33 high-rise buildings made of concrete and glass, for the design of which Minoru Yamasaki received the American Institute of Architects Award, gradually fell into disrepair. The quarter turned into a ghetto with the highest crime rate. The resettlement of residents and a series of organized explosions got authorities out of trouble. Together with the quarter, modernism was buried.

Postmodernists resolutely abandoned the monotony in favor of figurative architecture, which gave cities individuality.

In order not to confuse postmodernism with another style, it is enough to remember several of its features:

1. Unlike modernism, which denies the past, postmodernism is sensitive to the history and helps people find a connection with their roots and feel pleasant nostalgia for the past.

2. For postmodernists, it is imperative that the future buildings blend in with the landscape and harmonize with the environment. Some architects specially choose shades for future buildings as close as possible to the color of the soil of the chosen place.

3. Postmodernism is irrational. Adherents of this style attach great importance to space and often turn to baroque and mannerism when designing, creating something mysterious and intricate.

4. The main task of architects is to unite the tastes and values of ordinary people and professional architectural language. In other words, the embodiment of a double code: traditional and modern takes place. Postmodernists strive to achieve harmony between everyday life with its many cliches and rapidly changing art, technology and fashion.

As a rule, modern materials (concrete, glass and metal), which allow realizing the most daring architectural ideas, are used in buildings construction. Decorative tiles and natural stone are often used as facing materials.

It is difficult to design an object in this style, since the architect faces the task not just to “draw” a few square meters of a bedroom, a kitchen and a living room, but to make a special, “speaking” building, at the same time harmoniously blending in with the landscape. The creation of such an architectural object requires imagination, courage and understanding the context of the environment. A professional will not just build a “box”, he will create something unusual, beautiful and sophisticated.

Now postmodernism is still in the process of formation, it is constantly in search. Architects and designers experiment, play with forms and materials. Thanks to anti-utopian ideas, postmodernism does not lose its relevance and gradually erases the boundaries between mass and elitism, which is reflected in the commercial success of projects carried out in this architectural style.

List of references:

1. URL: https://bigenc.ru/philosophy/text/3162376

2. URL: http://gefter.ru/archive/14194

3. URL: http://www.chem.msu.ru/rus/teaching/sociology/8.html