Modern and contemporary architecture
Common usage brings some confusion in the terms with which we designate eras or styles of architecture. We speak indiscriminately of modern architecture or contemporary architecture. We speak of styles, movements or eras without much precision. All this adds up to a lot of confusion that we want to clarify a little.
Modern architecture
Modern architecture corresponds to a movement that began in the early 20th century and reached its peak after the Second World War, lasting until the 1960s. Resulting from the technical innovations in construction that began to appear at the end of the 19th century, such as concrete, steel and glass, this movement corresponds to the reaction of some architects against the excesses of revivalist architecture, such as the Victorian style, the highly ornamented style of Art Deco, or the style of effusive naturalism so well represented by the Spanish architect Gaudi.
This movement is said for its search for pure forms and straight lines, as much as for the primacy given to function and rationalism. Mies van der Rohe's "Less is more" is one of the phrases that best define modern architecture. Another of its great representatives le Corbusier has a slogan that speaks well of the tune with his time, made of the belief in science and progress as the engine of history. "Une maison est une machine à vivre".
The Bauhaus school created and run by architect Walter Gropius extends its modernist influence far beyond architecture, and is also known for its pure-line design objects in which "form follows function" in the pursuit of the utmost purity and simplicity that comes from usability.
This conception of modern architecture also extends to the vision of cities and their planning, as well as the concern to find the simplest, most rational and practical solutions for housing, trying to meet the reconstruction needs that the destruction of cities during World War II made urgent.
The openness to the landscape made possible by glass and new construction techniques, and their integration into nature derived from the harmony created by the simplicity of forms are elements well represented in the work of the well-known American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who, despite not claiming to belong to the modernist movement or to any particular style, became one of its greatest representatives, both for his extraordinary houses and for the emblematic Guggenheim Museum in New York.
And it was because this movement, modernism, indelibly marked a time and many of its architectural works that today we can speak of a period to characterize modern architecture. A style is defined as an author's appropriation of some elements of a code. In this case, of a vision of what architecture should be.
We can talk about style when we talk about the "in print" left by some creators and that are often copied or serve as inspiration for others, eventually generating a certain unity or, better, a certain standardization in the way of creating and designing.
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Post-Modernism
Modern architecture and the modernists obviously had their counterpoint. Postmodernism. Also a reaction, but this time against the austerity and puritanism of the previous era, even criticizing it as boring.
Postmodernism is thus characterized by the search for variety and greater freedom of expression. More imaginative, with more color, more sculptural forms and less conventional volumes, taking advantage of new technologies and new materials used for construction. The Sydney Opera House is one of its emblematic examples.
According to architect Roberto Venturi, one of its main theorizers, postmodernism offers "complexity and contradiction. The buildings can be asymmetrical, brightly colored, with rounded shapes and ornate facades, fearlessly revisiting tradition and previous eras, as for example Santiago Calatrava's Gare do Oriente in Lisbon, or even visiting the future with those that became known in their time as high-tech buildings, among which stands out for its originality and the surprise it generated, the Georges Pompidou Center by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers.
One of the most interesting characteristics of this movement is the almost total separation between exterior and interior, thus not calling into question the function for which the buildings are intended. Many of the architects who represent this vision of architecture such as Frank Gehry or Jean Novel are also the architects of contemporary times.
Contemporary Architecture
We speak of contemporary architecture when we speak of the architecture of our time. It is characterized precisely by the absence of movement or precise rules, giving the author complete freedom. Perhaps we can, however, speak of "starchitects" who are characterized by an unlimited and surprising capacity of expression, like Frank Gehry, Santiago Calatrava, Zaha Hadid or Jean Novel among many others.
Contemporary architecture is an architecture without defined styles, in which the only imperative is to be unconventional, represented both by buildings such as the Bilbao Museum and by small, ecological and easily reproducible bubble houses. It is also with contemporary architecture that we see the first concerns with sustainability and environmental preservation. The use of recyclable materials, the respect for water or the care with solar orientation to generate more thermal comfort and use less energy are elements that are gradually appearing in the works of this new generation of architects.
Its forms are multiple and often defying the eye or gravity. It is asked to be more imaginative than traditionalist. To be intelligent, either by integration in the landscape or by the use of technologies and domotics. To be functional and adapted to the problems of today, such as environmental problems or the pressures of mobility and the stress of life today.
Contemporary architecture is the architecture of today, open to participation and sharing, open to the territory and to multiple ways of life.
Our projects
Methodology
1. The briefing with the objectives of the project.
2. The research and analysis of the environmental context where the project will take place, be it about the surrounding area and the cultures that best adapt to each site, be it about the client's own taste and ways of life or those foreseen for the place to be worked on.
3. The design of the project and its presentation to the client.
4. The financial planning and of the works themselves (namely because of the seasons and the interaction with other construction works).
5. The execution of the final project and the management of the entire operation.
6. Monitoring the adaptation of the plants and the development of the garden itself.
Sustainable architecture
We speak of sustainable architecture to frame environmental and ecological concerns that allow the quality of the work as much as the quality and well-being of those who use it. Thinking about sustainability means thinking in the long term, preparing the building work to be more environmentally friendly. We can also talk about home automation so that the efficient management of the different functionalities is just a click away.
Interior architecture
We complete projects with interior architectural specialists who prepare spaces for the demands of life. As important, if not more important, as when we talk about family homes, offices or shops. Interior architecture is the synthesis which gives each project its own special touch.
Landscape architecture
We do not dispense with landscape architecture because it is the one that best knows how to highlight the surroundings and delineate the exterior spaces, adapting them to the landscape and the characteristics of the territory or the city.