Eiffel Tower (La Tour Eiffel)
December 31 2009, posted by Randy
1. -the importance of the design and construction
With the Eiffel Tower it was named after designer and engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel in the period of 1887-1889. It was the worlds tallest manmade building for 41years. It was designed for the Paris Exposition in 1889 (an event for the 100th anniversary of the French revolution). The Eiffel Tower was made out of puddle iron, it has restaurants on the second level and elevators as well. It is one of the most famous structures of all time and is a big symbol for Europe. It is funny that in the time it was being built people hated the idea of it and thought it would ruin the beautiful city of Paris and where as today and in the past it has been on of the most visited sites in Europe, creating a great profit for tourists in Paris. In the time it was being built ‘many in the arts and civic leaders felt the tower was an abomination.’ "They have only erected the framework of this monument, It has no skin" (The Eiffel Tower, 1889, n.d). People did not like the structure at first because it was alien like and had broken the architects rules and normality of regular stone buildings with.
2. -significance of the materials
An expert on the characteristics of various metals by this point in his career, Eiffel had decided that wrought iron was the only available material that would provide the necessary combination of strength, flexibility, durability and affordability to make his design a reality. (The Construction of the Eiffel Tower, Karen Plumley). The significance of the material
3. -significance of the designer
Alexandre Gustave Eiffel was a bridge builder and engineer which therefore allowed him to put his skills of practicality and sustainability to the test of making something attractive, big and useful for the future. He succeeded in the way that the Eiffel tower is still standing strong and how many people used his idea of steel for a different kind of modern beauty and height later on and still today people use.
4. -function for which each was built
The Tower was built for an event for the 100th French Revolution anniversary, the people did not like the steel look and shape. Many other buildings were torn down after the fair.
5. -function now-has it changed?
The building has now become a tourist attraction and a symbol for Paris therefore it has changed because people used to hate the look and image of the Eiffel tower and thought it ruined the historic stone buildings and was alien like. It was also designed for a anniversary and was one of the only steel buildings that didn’t get torn down.
Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao
Monday, November 1st, 2010
'hailed as the most important structure of its time'
( www. guggenheim.org/bilbao )
The Guggenheim Museum was designed by architect Frank Gehry and built by Ferrovial (a Spanish multinational company involved in the design, build, financing, operation (DBFO) and maintenance of transport, urban and services infrastructure.) The museum is in Bilbao in Spain and sits next to the Nervion River. It is a very famous and ‘admired works of contemporary architecture’ ‘The museum was the building most frequently named as one of the most important works completed since 1980 in the 2010 World Architecture Survey among architecture experts.’ (Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Wikipedia)
1. -the importance of the design and construction
It is intended to resemble a ship and has random curves which is designed to catch the different light. It was opened in 1997. Architect Phillip Johnson called it "the greatest building of our time" (Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Wikipedia, n.d). The titanium panels are said to resemble fish scales. Over 10million people have visited the museum. The design and construction was on a time and budget. The importance of the design and construction was to emphasize the surroundings where it was placed such as the river therefore the building was designed to have organic shapes and the resemblance of fish and ship-like features to fit in with the idea of the river it is next to. I think personally that also a fact of the importance of the design is that it allows the mind to feel creative and open minded before entering the museum, it creates a great sense of space well-used which is inspiring and is a piece of art itself. ‘Also in typical Gehry fashion, the building is uniquely a product of the period's technology. Computer aided design and visualizations were used heavily in the structure's design. Computer simulations of the building's structure made it feasible to build shapes that architects of earlier eras would have found nearly impossible to construct. During its construction, stone panels were cut by lasers.’ (Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, n.d). Revolutionary innovations in construction and project design offered by new digital technologies, coupled with the development of new materials, have enabled architects to create buildings with the most unusual and evocative shapes. (ArchiSculpture, Guggenheim Bilbao Museum, n.d).
2. -significance of the materials
In the Guggenheim Museum, there are many materials used for the building such as a steel frame with sinuous stone, glass and titanium orthogonal and organic volumes also limestone was used for colour and to match the sandstone of the University Deusto. ‘The titanium cladding used is half a millimeter thick, each piece is unique and has been designed with the aid of a state-of-the-art 3D design computer program. The volumes are linked by glass curtain walls for light transparency. In some of the more curvaceous and irregular exhibition spaces within the museum the floor is constructed of cement with curved and twisted walls.’ I think that the importance of the materials used for this museum would be the computer technology because in the past this would have been a project that would have been impossible to create for architects in the past.
3. -significance of the designer
Frank Gehry is known for his sculptural buildings and for this building it has been said that he is ‘the most important architect of our age’ by Vanity Fair. His best known work is the Guggenheim Museum. His architectural style is Deconstructionism (a development of post modern architecture that began in the late 1980s. It is characterized by ideas of fragmentation, an interest in manipulating ideas of a structure's surface or skin, non-rectilinear shapes which serve to distort and dislocate some of the elements of architecture, such as structure and envelope.) (Deconstructionism, Wikipedia, n.d). in 2010 he won the World Architecture Survey. In 1999, he was awarded the AIA Gold Medal "in recognition of a significant body of work of lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture." He is very much inspired by fish and has his own line of jewelery, therefore showing he is very established. Frank Gehry is a significant important designer because he has showed the youth and generations of up and coming architects that there are no limits to creativity and how you can make your designs possible.
4. -function for which each was built
The function was for architect Frank Gehry to build something new and innovative to put modern art, exhibitions and lecture rooms in a building for people to come and learn and see talent. This function stays the same today for people. With over 10million people have visited.
http://www.bilbao.net/cs/Satellite?pagename=Bilbaonet/Page/BIO_preHome
Compare the two architectural structures, by noting their similarities and differences.
1. Similarities
The similarities between the Guggenheim Museum and the Eiffel tower are that they both has to be made out of material that could curve, bend and with flexibility so that they could get the curves and arches that they wanted. Similar materials used were steel and iron for durability, strength and flexibility. The designers have some similarities but some differences also for an example the both were thinking about the future when they were designing, because Eiffel was using completely different materials and a completely different style than the norm in Paris at the time and Gehry was using a lot of materials put together and using technology to create something thought of as impossible but made possible which was a computer program. Gehry was also thinking about the future of architecture because there were no designs like his before and now people have realised the possibilities of this kind of dramatic architecture. They both set out with different functions for their buildings however in the end the Eiffel tower is a tourist place now and so is the Guggenheim Museum. They both have curves and arches.
2. Differences
The differences between the two buildings firstly would be the designers, this is because they both used different methods of designing, mostly because they were different sorts of designers Eiffel was a bridge designer and had practical ideas. Where as Gehry was more of an artist with his dramatic very different creative efforts. The functions of the buildings were both different where The Eiffel Tower was designed for a fair and was then used as a radio tower, where as Guggenheim was designed to be a museum for people to interact with art and learn. The Eiffel tower is a lot taller and was designed to be the tallest building in the world at the time, where are the Guggenheim was designed to not interfere and not be overcasting other buildings but to kind of fit in with it’s height.
