Traditional Culture and Modern Design (2)

A European traditional culture and modern design

01. Traces of traditional culture left on modern design

We discuss below the influence of traditional culture on European modern design. The reason why the West entered the era of the industrial revolution was the rapid development of science and technology. This development has allowed the handicrafts that lasted for thousands of years to evolve into mechanized production. However, in spite of this substantive leap in the history of science and technology, and causing the applause of architects and artists like Corbusier, I think that I have bid farewell to the design method of the handicraft era and entered a new era of architectural revolution. On the other hand, Europe has accumulated thousands of years of traditional culture and art. It is still consciously or unconsciously subconsciously inherited in modern design.

Let's take a look at the art and design works later known as landmarks of the industrial revolution. How they embody the integration of traditional culture and art with modern science and technology. European philosophers say that architecture is a history written on stone; European artists say that architecture is the queen of art, so we start with architecture.

Architectural Art

The first example was the London Crystal Palace built in 1851. This is a building that provides exhibition space for the London World's Fair. The British Empire government, in order to show the achievements of the British Industrial Revolution and promote scientific and technological progress, in order to show off the colonialism to plunder the world's resources and began to dominate the world's strength, the United Kingdom was in place at that time. Queen Victoria and his husband, Duke Albert, decided to hold an international exposition in Hyde Park, London. So there was a steel-framed building designed by British landscape architect Joseph Paxton. Later, people called it the Crystal Palace. The Crystal Palace took only eight months to be completed. It was precisely because of the geometry of the building, the modularization, stereotypes, and standardization of the building scale, as well as the hard and crystal glass walls and factory production, making this commercial sanctuary, To become the world's first important work that embodies the early functionalist style, foreshadowed the three major developments of the 20th century design: the machine has become the shaper of the style; the technology is the direct source of new construction or new product materials; non-architects Replacing the status of an architect has become an innovator of architectural style.

If we put new materials, new techniques, and new design results brought about by technological advancement, let's temporarily take a look at the arched roof of the Crystal Palace, although there is no gothic architecture that “smashes the blue sky and remains untainted”. External styling, however, people can still feel all the religious spirits that are directed toward God from the Romanesque semi-circle escort, because the transparent dome-shaped glass roof makes it easier for people to communicate with God's deities; take a look at it. The open hall leading to the transparent glass roof is still reminiscent of the prayer hall in the medieval church; the colonnade that surrounds the hall, although it lost the style of ancient Greek columns and ancient Roman columns, people still can feel the interior of European classical buildings. The religious atmosphere of the space; the colorful patterns on the stained-glass wall, though without the flashy sculptures of European classical architecture, can also evoke the reverie of the classical European architectural murals... This is a cultural spirit that can Shown in classic masonry art and can also be found in modern industrial materials, craftsmanship and design .

The second example was the Eiffel Tower in Paris in 1889 and the Machinery World at the Paris World Expo. The former was built during the Paris World Fair in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the French bourgeois revolution; the latter was built for the machine exhibition of the Paris Expo. Both buildings were completed during the Paris World's Fair.

The 1889 anniversary of the 100th anniversary of the French bourgeois revolution, the French government decided to solemnly celebrate and hold an unprecedented world expo in Paris to demonstrate French industrial technology and cultural achievements and build a monument that symbolizes the French Revolution and Paris. Thus, there is the Eiffel Tower named after the designer, the French engineer G.Eiffel. The Eiffel Tower adopts an assembly-type factory production method and adopts all possible scientific and technological achievements brought about by the industrial revolution. In the design, component production, assembly assembly, large industrial serial production model, fully shows the progress of modern industry. At that time, people believed that the Eiffel Tower, just like the New Art School, represented a specific period of transition and transition from the European classical tradition to modernism. However, it is not difficult for us to find the marks of traditional culture and art from this landmark architecture. The towering spires often remind people of Gothic architecture's tall, straight, vertical upward momentum. Even the curve that extends from the top of the spire to the base of the tower makes it extremely easy for people to think of the pointed arches of the Gothic architecture and the ridged domes. This still contains the spirit of traditional culture. The difference is that it uses new materials, new techniques, and new designs. However, the spirit of culture is inherited in scientific and technological progress and artistic exploration.

At this world expo, the impact of the industrial revolution on architecture has been fully reflected. The Paris Expo Machine Exhibition Hall is one of the most important buildings on the expo. It uses the most advanced structure and construction technology at that time. It adopts a steel three-joint arch and spans 115 meters. It is a great leap forward in construction span! The pavilion has a total of 20 such steel arches, forming a huge indoor space with a width of 115 meters and a length of 420 meters. The steel three-hinged arch has a maximum section height of 3.5 meters and a width of 0.75 meters. The behemoths are narrower as they approach the ground, and are almost reduced to one point at the junction with the ground. Each point concentrates 120 tons of pressure. Most of the walls and roofs of the museum are glass. After the Crystal Palace in London, once again, an amazing interior space was created.

The World Expo has been separated from the London World Expo by 37 years. The industrial revolution is still developing rapidly at an astonishing speed. New materials, new processes, and new designs emerge in an endless stream. Various technologies have become more mature. It is therefore natural to create a newer and higher industrial miracle than the London World Expo. However, apart from technological innovations, there is nothing to cheer on artistically because the continuous three-hinged arch, which is 420 meters long and spans 115 meters, shows progress in science and technology, and it is still artistically People think of Roman-style thick round arches, but the material is different. However, the cultural spirit between them is in the same strain. The museum was demolished in 1920, so few people mention it again.

The third example is the design of the third international tower of the Soviet Union completed in 1920. This design plan, later described as "completely embodies the concept of constructivism," is half the height of the Eiffel Tower. It includes international conference centers, radio stations, and communication centers. This modernist building is actually a sculpture that symbolizes the proletarian revolution and the communist movement. Its symbolism is more important than practicality. The third international tower project was designed by Soviet artist Vladimir Tatlin and is a representative of Soviet constructivism art and design. Constructivism art and design is an avant-garde art movement and design movement produced among Russian advanced intellectuals before and after the victory of the Soviet Union’s October Revolution. No matter how deep or broad the exploration is, this sport is not inferior to Germany’s Bauhaus. Movement, or Dutch style movement.

The success of the October Revolution in the Soviet Union gave birth to the world’s first socialist country. After the victory, the Soviet Union was intervened by the imperialist powers, but communist beliefs and vigorous revolutionary movements led a large number of intellectuals to devote themselves to full revolutionary passion. In the revolution, they hope that under the leadership of the Communist Party, they will contribute their full strength to the establishment of a prosperous, prosperous, and equal Soviet Union. In the predicament of internal and external interference, Soviet architects, artists, and designers began to explore the art and design of the proletarian revolutionary cause. The Soviet Union later held a new exhibition of Soviet design in Berlin, which not only enabled the West to systematically understand the exploration and achievements of constructivism, but also understood the social background of design concepts, namely the revolutionary realism and the principle of revolutionary romanticism widely promoted in Soviet art. , and emphasize that art comes from life. Today we do not have to define what constitutes a constructivism in the Soviet Union, but it did have a great influence on European modernist art at that time. Affected by this, Gropius immediately adjusted the teaching direction of Bauhaus, abandoning the disease-free Expressionist art approach, turning to rationalism and putting forward the slogan “Don’t be a church, just live”. This was Bauhaus since 1919. The first major policy adjustment since its inception. The great breakthrough made by constructivism in art has greatly promoted the development of western art and design.

It is true that the design of the third international tower is artistically avant-garde and politically symbolic. However, it is such an artistic design work full of revolutionary sentiments that we can also interpret the linguistic symbols of European traditional culture. The composition of the infinitely dynamic, spiral-like rise is really the Gothic architecture's religious soul that worships God. It is only Soviet constructivist artists and designers that give it new content and interpretation. From this point alone, we can see that the impact of traditional culture on future generations is far beyond our imagination. From this, it is also possible to extend the so-called "avant-garde" and "avant-garde" arts today - although they cannot be synonymous with Soviet constructivist artists, they cannot compare with the Soviet Union constructivist artists' exploration spirit, but they always In their own “avant-garde” art, they must flaunt the attributes of anti-traditional culture and arts, and must even completely annihilate traditional culture and art. According to the case analysis of the Third International Tower Design Program, no art will lose its traditional cultural spirit because of its avant-garde nature.

The fourth illustration is the United States' World Trade Center building. This “Twin Towers” ​​cannot but be said to be the product of today’s world economic and technological developments—an investment of 280 million U.S. dollars; a 110-storey building, about 417 meters high; (after 670 meters high, Chicago Syl (over the Sri Lankan Building); covers an area of ​​16 hectares, with a total area of ​​929,000 square meters; excavation more than 900,000 cubic meters of mud and rocks; all engineering materials - more than 200,000 tons of steel, concrete more than 320,000 cubic meters; Australia Eight large cranes were designed and built for the purpose of building it; to go through this “standing city”, more than 200 elevators and more than 70 escalators kept working; the speed of the elevator was up to 8 meters per second; it was completed in 1973. At the time, it broke the world’s highest building record that the Empire State Building had maintained for 42 years and became the world’s tallest building. Until the September 11 attacks in 2001, it was still the fourth highest in the world. The second place in the United States, the first place in New York.

From the late 1960s to the mid 1970s, it was the most glorious time for high-rise buildings in the United States. Due to the maturity of construction technology and the strength of the overall economic strength of the United States, high-rise buildings in this period have achieved amazing height, function, and quantity. As a result, the Twin Towers was born in New York. The building was designed by American Japanese and architect Yamazaki. In Yamazaki's view, the basic problem of the construction of the World Trade Center is "to find a beautiful and moving form and contour, which is suitable for the landscape of Manhattan and the important position of the World Trade Center." He believes that humans can build Skyscrapers are sure to understand skyscrapers. Therefore, in more than a hundred design projects, Yamazaki finally decided on the "Twin Sons Tower" design plan that will later be erected in Manhattan, New York. This program has an aspect ratio of 7:1. It is composed of dense steel columns. The distance between the steel columns is only one meter in the center. All windows are of elongated shape, and the upright lines composed of steel columns and On the 9th floor, the three columns are merged into one, and the merged place is designed with a pointed arch, which is quite gothic. Those continuous pointed arched doors are reminiscent of the typical form of Gothic architecture. The change of traditional culture and art. No matter what kind of mentality the Yamato is really determined this program, he eventually did not escape the influence of European traditional culture and art.

Shan Qishi is an important modernist and internationalist design representative in the United States. He has difficulty solving skyscrapers.