XV Международная студенческая научная конференция Студенческий научный форум - 2023

Organic architecture is a philosophy of architecture which promotes harmony between human habitation and the natural world. This is achieved through design approaches so sympathetic and well integrated with a site that buildings, furnishings, and surroundings become part of a unified, interrelated composition.

The term organic architecture was coined by Frank Lloyd Wright. It was an extension of the teachings of his mentor, Louis Sullivan, whose slogan "form follows function" became the mantra of modern architecture. Wright changed this phrase to "form and function are one," claiming Nature as the ultimate model. He said: "The solution of every problem is contained within itself. Its plan, form and character are determined by the nature of the site, the nature of the materials used, the nature of the system using them, the nature of the life concerned and the purpose of the building itself."

Organic architecture is also translated into the all inclusive nature of Frank Lloyd Wright's design process. Materials, motifs, and basic ordering principles 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.

During the later 1920s and 1930s Wright's Organic style had fully matured with the design of Graycliff, Fallingwater and Taliesin West.

Graycliff consists of three buildings set within 8.5 acres of landscape, also designed by Wright. Its site, high on a bluff overlooking the Lake Erie, inspired Wright to create a home that was transparent, with views through the building to the lake beyond. Terraces and cantilevered balconies also encourage lake views, and water features throughout the landscape were designed by Wright to echo the lake as well.

One of Wright's most famous private residences was built from 1934 to 1937 – Fallingwater – for Mr. and Mrs. Edgar J. Kaufmann Sr., at Mill Run, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. It was designed according to Wright's desire to place the occupants close to the natural surroundings, with a stream and waterfall running under a part of the building. Wright wanted the new residents to live with the waterfalls, to make them part of their everyday lives. He didn't want them to just look at them every now and again. Constructed over a 30-foot waterfall, the house may look very big on the outside but on the inside it is quite small, which surprises some visitors. It was made with three bedrooms, a massive living room and a dining room. The house was more of a design for a family getaway, not for a live-in family.

Taliesin West, Wright's winter home and studio complex in Scottsdale, Arizona, was a laboratory for Wright from 1937 to his death in 1959. Now the home of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and archives, it continues today as the site of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture.

Frank Lloyd Wright followed to the next principles:

-good design understands that for anything to be truly beautiful, that it must possess simplicity and repose. Architecture, like any other art, must not fall victim to fashion and trends and maintain its course. The arrangement of the design must be such that removing any one piece would destroy the intended composition;

-good design is expressive to each unique circumstance. Given this, I propose that there should be as many types and styles of architecture as there are individuals;

-a building should grow from its site as nature grows: from the inside out, and shaped by the forces which surround it;

-the nature of the materials should be expressed throughout the building as inherent to their quality and ability. False or fake materials made to mimic others create false architecture;

-we require from our buildings, as we do from people, an integrity and honesty in all it expresses. It should be true to itself and its environment.

Another not less important architect, who was one of the progenitors of organic architecture, was Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto. The span of his career, from the 1920s to the 1970s, is reflected in the styles of his work, ranging from Nordic Classicism of the early work, to a rational International Style Modernism during the 1930s to a more organic modernist style from the 1940s onwards.

One of his most famous projects is the Säynätsalo Town Hall. The design of the Town Hall was influenced by both Finnish vernacular architecture and the humanist Italian Renaissance. It was the Italian Renaissance from which Aalto drew inspiration for the courtyard arrangement which informed the name of his original competition entry entitled "Curia." While the main program of the building is housed within a heavy brick envelope, the courtyard is bordered by a glass-enclosed circulation space which can be linked to the model of an arcade-bordered Piazza.

The main feature of the Finlandia Hall building, another his not less famous project, is a tower like section with a sloping roof. Alvar Aalto’s idea behind the design was that a high empty space would provide better acoustics. A lattice ceiling hides the space to the audience but it allows the creation of the same deep post-echo as tall church towers. Aalto used marble in both indoor and outdoor surfaces as a contrast to black granite. For Aalto, marble was a tie to the Mediterranean culture, which he wanted to bring to Finland.

There are many other not famous architects, who build in organic style: Arthur Dyson, Antoni Gaudi, Hector Guimard , Hugo Häring , Hans Scharoun , John Lautner , Bruce Goff, Eero Saarinen, Louis Sullivan, Hundertwasser , Anton Alberts, Laurie Baker, Claude Bragdon , Douglas Cardinal, Basil Al Bayati , Neville Gruzman , Imre Makovecz , Javier Senosiain , Reima Pietilä , Toyo Ito, Chen Kuen Lee, Le Corbusier, Hassan Fathy.

Although the word "organic" has become a buzzword for something that occurs naturally, when connected to architecture it takes on a new meaning. Organic architecture is not a style of imitation, but rather, a reinterpretation of the Nature's principles to build forms more natural than nature itself.

Just as in Nature, organic architecture involves a respect for natural materials (wood should look like wood), blending into the surroundings (a house should be in the hill, not on it), and an honest expression of the function of the building.

Today the philosophy of organic architecture continues through the works of hundreds of Mr. Wright’s students. Moreover, the modern trends in architecture include main principles of organic architecture 20^th century. Modern buildings are build according their function and situation. Of course the development don’t stay and, speaking about the main principles of the architecture of the 20^th century, we can not say, that they match to the contemporary requirements. But the so popular today green building include most of them.

Green architecture, philosophy of architecture that advocates sustainable energy sources, the conservation of energy, the reuse and safety of building materials, and the siting of a building with consideration of its impact on the environment.

References:

1. Organic architecture: its origin, development and impact on mid 20th century Melbourne architecture,2008.http://researchbank.rmit.edu.au/eserv/rmit:6760/Njoo.pdf

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvar_Aalto

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Lloyd_Wright

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_architecture

5. http://www.organicarchitect.com/pdf/principles.pdf

6. http://www.organicarchitect.com/organic/#axzz42REoTtzT

7. http://weburbanist.com/2008/11/21/organic-architecture-examples-form-over-function/