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66-433: Former Vitra CEO, and son of Vitra founders Willi and Erika Fehlbaum, Rolf Fehlbaum founded the museum in 1989 as an independent private foundation . The Vitra corporation provides it with a financial subsidy, the use of Vitra architecture, and organizational cooperation. Frank O.Gehry was inspired by Raphael Soriano early in his career, but soon developed his own style with very curvilinear forms and structures, he wanted

132-543: A utopianism of place. Deconstructivism, meanwhile, maintains a level of self-criticism and a dystopianism of place, as well as external criticism and tends towards maintaining a level of complexity. Some architects identified with the movement, notably Frank Gehry , have actively rejected the classification of their work as deconstructivist. Critics of deconstructivism see it as a purely formal exercise with little social significance. Kenneth Frampton finds it "elitist and detached". Nikos Salingaros calls deconstructivism

198-433: A "viral expression" that invades design thinking in order to build destroyed forms; while curiously similar to both Derrida's and Philip Johnson's descriptions, this is meant as a harsh condemnation of the entire movement. Other criticisms are similar to those of deconstructivist philosophy—that since the act of deconstructivism is not an empirical process, it can result in whatever an architect wishes, and it thus suffers from

264-408: A body-colored plastic 'rail' ahead of the spacebar, visually detached from the typewriter's main body. The term Deconstructivism in contemporary architecture is opposed to the ordered rationality of Modernism and Postmodernism . Though postmodernist and nascent deconstructivist architects both published in the journal Oppositions (published between 1973 and 1984), that journal's contents mark

330-445: A decisive break between the two movements. Deconstructivism took a confrontational stance to architectural history , wanting to "disassemble" architecture. While postmodernism returned to embrace the historical references that modernism had shunned, possibly ironically, deconstructivism rejected the postmodern acceptance of such references, as well as the idea of ornament as an after-thought or decoration. In addition to Oppositions ,

396-471: A defining text for both deconstructivism and postmodernism was Robert Venturi 's Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture (1966). It argues against the purity, clarity and simplicity of modernism. With its publication, functionalism and rationalism , the two main branches of modernism, were overturned as paradigms. The reading of the postmodernist Venturi was that ornament and historical allusion added

462-460: A disconnection from cultural references. With its tendency toward deformation and dislocation, there is also an aspect of expressionism and expressionist architecture associated with deconstructivism. At times deconstructivism mirrors varieties of expressionism, neo-expressionism , and abstract expressionism as well. The angular forms of the Ufa Cinema Center by Coop Himmelb(l)au recall

528-672: A form of writing or discourse on writing and often works with a form of concrete poetry . He made architectural sculptures out of books and often coated the models in texts, openly making his architecture refer to writing. The notions of trace and erasure were taken up by Libeskind in essays and in his project for the Jewish Museum Berlin . The museum is conceived as a trace of the erasure of the Holocaust , intended to make its subject legible and poignant. Memorials such as Maya Lin 's Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Peter Eisenman's Memorial to

594-436: A garage for fire engines, showers and locker rooms for the fire fighters and a conference room with kitchen facilities. The Fire Station is a sculpture of cast in-situ concrete that contrasts with the orthogonal order of the adjacent factory buildings like the frozen image of an explosion in a photograph. Today the building functions as an exhibition space. In the same year, a conference pavilion of Japanese architect Tadao Ando

660-592: A gatehouse for the close-by Vitra factory. Although Gehry used his trademark sculptural deconstructivist style for the museum building, he did not opt for his usual mix of materials, but limited himself to white plaster and a titanium – zinc alloy. For the first time, he allowed curved forms to break up his more usual angular shapes. The sloping white forms appear to echo the Notre Dame du Haut chapel by Le Corbusier in Ronchamp , France , not far from Weil. The building

726-474: A keen consciousness of the role of criticism within architectural theory. Whilst referencing Derrida as a philosophical influence, deconstructivism can also be seen as having as much a basis in critical theory as the other major offshoot of postmodernism, critical regionalism . The two aspects of critical theory, urgency and analysis, are found in deconstructivism. There is a tendency to re-examine and critique other works or precedents in deconstructivism, and also

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792-400: A lack of consistency. Today there is a sense that the philosophical underpinnings of the beginning of the movement have been lost, and all that is left is the aesthetic of deconstructivism. Other criticisms reject the premise that architecture is a language capable of being the subject of linguistic philosophy, or, if it was a language in the past, critics claim it is no longer. Others question

858-529: A large part of the Vitra production facilities in Weil am Rhein in 1981. British architect Nicholas Grimshaw was commissioned to design new factory buildings and develop a master plan for the company's campus. Inspired by his acquaintance with Frank Gehry in the mid-1980s, Vitra departed from Grimshaw's plan for a unified corporate project. Since that time, buildings have been erected on the Vitra grounds in Weil am Rhein by

924-543: A meadow adorned with cherry trees . Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen 's prominent sculpture Balancing Tools provides a colourful contrast, while Tadao Ando 's nearby conference pavilion gives a more muted one. The neighboring Vitra Fire Station ( a former fire station) is used for some of the events and exhibitions of the museum. Vitra (furniture) Vitra is a Swiss family-owned furniture company headquartered in Birsfelden , Switzerland. It manufactures

990-581: A minimalist text influenced deconstructivism, with its sense of fragmentation and emphasis on reading the monument. Lin also contributed work for Eisenman's Wexner Center. Rachel Whiteread's cast architectural spaces are another instance where contemporary art is confluent with architecture. Ghost (1990), an entire living space cast in plaster, solidifying the void, alludes to Derrida's notion of architectural presence. Gordon Matta-Clark 's Building cuts were deconstructed sections of buildings exhibited in art galleries. Mark Wigley and Philip Johnson curated

1056-819: A new "style" was out of context and showed a lack of understanding of their ideas, and believed that Deconstructivism was simply a move against the practice of PoMo , which he said involved "making Doric temple forms out of plywood". Other influential exhibitions include the 1989 opening of the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus , designed by Peter Eisenman. The New York exhibition has featured works by Frank Gehry , Daniel Libeskind , Rem Koolhaas , Peter Eisenman , Zaha Hadid , Coop Himmelb(l)au , and Bernard Tschumi . Since their exhibitions, some architects associated with Deconstructivism have distanced themselves from it; nonetheless,

1122-444: A pragmatic architecture, and instill the philosophic complexities of semiology . The deconstructivist reading of Complexity and Contradiction is quite different. The basic building was the subject of problematics and intricacies in deconstructivism, with no detachment for ornament. Rather than separating ornament and function, like postmodernists such as Venturi, the functional aspects of buildings were called into question. Geometry

1188-570: A prototypical deconstructivist building. His starting point was a prototypical suburban house embodied with a typical set of intended social meanings. Gehry altered its massing, spatial envelopes, planes and other expectations in a playful subversion, an act of "de"construction" In addition to Derrida's concepts of the metaphysics of presence and deconstructivism, his notions of trace and erasure, embodied in his philosophy of writing and arche-writing found their way into deconstructivist memorials . Daniel Libeskind envisioned many of his early projects as

1254-521: A restoration and conservation laboratory, and a research library. It also organises guided tours of the Vitra premises , a major attraction to those interested in modern architecture . The museum produced the travelling exhibition 'Rudolf Steiner - Alchemy of the Everyday', a major retrospective exhibition drawn from its own collection and borrowed exhibits, coinciding with the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of

1320-405: A richness to architecture that modernism had foregone. Some Postmodern architects endeavored to reapply ornament even to economical and minimal buildings, described by Venturi as "the decorated shed". Rationalism of design was dismissed but the functionalism of the building was still somewhat intact. This is close to the thesis of Venturi's next major work, that signs and ornament can be applied to

1386-400: A series of cuts and fragmentations. A three-dimensional grid runs somewhat arbitrarily through the building. The grid, as a reference to modernism, of which it is an accoutrement, collides with the medieval antiquity of a castle. Some of the grid's columns intentionally do not reach the ground, hovering over stairways creating a sense of neurotic unease and contradicting the structural purpose of

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1452-489: A sure effect on deconstructivism, as forms and content are dissected and viewed from different perspectives simultaneously. A synchronicity of disjoined space is evident in many of the works of Frank Gehry and Bernard Tschumi . Synthetic cubism , with its application of found object art, is not as great an influence on deconstructivism as Analytical cubism , but is still found in the earlier and more vernacular works of Frank Gehry. Deconstructivism also shares with minimalism

1518-460: A tendency to set aesthetic issues in the foreground. An example of this is the Wexner Center . Critical Theory , however, had at its core a critique of capitalism and its excess, and from that respect many of the works of the Deconstructivists would fail in that regard if only they are made for an elite and are, as objects, highly expensive, despite whatever critique they may claim to impart on

1584-399: A wide-ranging group of architects, including Frank Gehry ( Vitra Design Museum and Factory Building, 1989), Zaha Hadid ( Vitra Fire Station , 1993), Tadao Ando (Conference Pavilion, 1993), Alvaro Siza (Factory Building, Passage Cover, Car Parking, 1994), Herzog & de Meuron (VitraHaus, 2010), and SANAA (Factory Building, 2011). With the aim of making the collection accessible to

1650-455: Is a postmodern architectural movement which appeared in the 1980s. It gives the impression of the fragmentation of the constructed building, commonly characterised by an absence of obvious harmony, continuity, or symmetry. Its name is a portmanteau of Constructivism and " Deconstruction ", a form of semiotic analysis developed by the French philosopher Jacques Derrida . Architects whose work

1716-745: Is absent in Deconstructivism: form is often deformed when construction is deconstructed. Also lessened or absent is the advocacy of socialist and collectivist causes. The primary graphic motifs of constructivism were the rectangular bar and the triangular wedge, others were the more basic geometries of the square and the circle. In his series Prouns , El Lizzitzky assembled collections of geometries at various angles floating free in space. They evoke basic structural units such as bars of steel or sawn lumber loosely attached, piled, or scattered. They were also often drafted and share aspects with technical drawing and engineering drawing . Similar in composition

1782-491: Is architecture, and the same dialectic of presence and absence is found in construction and deconstructivism. According to Derrida, readings of texts are best carried out when working with classical narrative structures. Any architectural deconstructivism requires the existence of a particular archetypal con struction, a strongly-established conventional expectation to play flexibly against. The design of Frank Gehry ’s own Santa Monica residence, (from 1978), has been cited as

1848-455: Is centered on the bequest of U.S. designers Charles and Ray Eames , as well as numerous works of designers such as George Nelson , Alvar Aalto , Verner Panton , Dieter Rams , Jean Prouvé , Richard Hutten and Michael Thonet . It is one of the world's largest collections of modern furniture design, including pieces representative of all major periods and styles from the beginning of the nineteenth century onwards. These works, originally

1914-472: Is in the same spirit as the deconstructivist rejection of ornament for geometries. Several artists in the 1980s and 1990s contributed work that influenced or took part in deconstructivism. Maya Lin and Rachel Whiteread are two examples. Lin's 1982 project for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial , with its granite slabs severing the ground plane, is one. Its shard-like form and reduction of content to

1980-469: Is often described as deconstructivist (though in many cases the architects themselves reject the label) include Zaha Hadid , Peter Eisenman , Frank Gehry , Rem Koolhaas , Daniel Libeskind , Bernard Tschumi , and Coop Himmelb(l)au . The term does not inherently refer to the style's deconstructed visuals as the English adjective suggests, but instead derives from the movement's foundations in contrast to

2046-614: Is the deconstructivist series Micromegas by Daniel Libeskind. The symbolic breakdown of the wall effected by introducing the Constructivist motifs of tilted and crossed bars sets up a subversion of the walls that define the bar itself. ... This apparent chaos actually constructs the walls that define the bar; it is the structure. The internal disorder produces the bar while splitting it even as gashes open up along its length. Two strains of modern art, minimalism and cubism , have had an influence on deconstructivism. Analytical cubism had

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2112-419: Is the main subject of deconstructivist philosophy in architecture theory. The presupposition is that architecture is a language capable of communicating meaning and of receiving treatments by methods of linguistic philosophy. The dialectic of presence and absence, or solid and void occurs in much of Eisenman's projects, both built and unbuilt. Both Derrida and Eisenman believe that the locus, or place of presence,

2178-965: The Munich International Airport . The company's website lists national subsidiaries in Austria, Belgium, China, the Czech Republic , France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands , Norway, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States. Vitra also has showrooms in numerous international cities. Production sites are located in Weil am Rhein (Germany), Szombathely (Hungary), Neuenburg (Germany), Allentown (United States), Zhuhai (China) and Sugito (Japan). [REDACTED] Media related to Vitra (furniture) at Wikimedia Commons Deconstructivism Deconstructivism

2244-535: The column . The Wexner Center deconstructs the archetype of the castle and renders its spaces and structure with conflict and difference. Some Deconstructivist architects were influenced by the French philosopher Jacques Derrida . Eisenman was a friend of Derrida, but even so his approach to architectural design was developed long before he became a Deconstructivist. For him Deconstructivism should be considered an extension of his interest in radical formalism. Some practitioners of deconstructivism were also influenced by

2310-501: The 1982 Parc de la Villette architectural design competition , in particular the entry from Jacques Derrida and Peter Eisenman and the winning entry by Bernard Tschumi , as well as the Museum of Modern Art ’s 1988 Deconstructivist Architecture exhibition in New York, organized by Philip Johnson and Mark Wigley . Tschumi stated that calling the work of these architects a "movement" or

2376-419: The 1988 Museum of Modern Art exhibition Deconstructivist architecture , which crystallized the movement, and brought fame and notoriety to its key practitioners. The architects presented at the exhibition were Peter Eisenman , Frank Gehry , Zaha Hadid , Coop Himmelblau , Rem Koolhaas , Daniel Libeskind , and Bernard Tschumi . Mark Wigley wrote the accompanying essay and tried to show a common thread among

2442-647: The French designer Jean Prouvé —originally constructed in 1953—was moved to the Vitra Campus. The VitraHaus by Herzog & de Meuron , the latest addition to the Vitra Campus, opened in 2010 as the company's flagship store and home of the Vitra Home Collection. The concept of the VitraHaus connects two themes that appear repeatedly in the oeuvre of the Basel-based architects: the theme of the archetypal house and

2508-564: The Murdered Jews of Europe are also said to reflect themes of trace and erasure. Another major current in deconstructivist architecture takes inspiration from the Constructivist and Russian Futurist movements of the early twentieth century, both in their graphics and in their visionary architecture, little of which was actually constructed. Artists Naum Gabo , El Lissitzky , Kazimir Malevich , and Alexander Rodchenko , have influenced

2574-471: The Radical Design exhibition is presented in context of other works to show the history and to better understand that history behind the work and what preceded the times. Cubism is a movement that happened all over Europe during the early 20th century. Czech Cubism is a movement that happened in the Czech Republic and was based off of the decorative arts and architecture which is the main exhibitions in

2640-607: The Russian Constructivist movement during the First World War that "broke the rules" of classical architecture through the French language. Besides fragmentation, deconstructivism often manipulates the structure's surface skin and deploys non- rectilinear shapes which appear to distort and dislocate established elements of architecture . The finished visual appearance is characterized by unpredictability and controlled chaos. Deconstructivism came to public notice with

2706-533: The Vitra museum. Alexander von Vegesack published a book about this topic in 1991. This book discusses the movement of Cubism itself, but also how this movement affected architecture, and specifically what was happening with Czech architects, painters, sculptors, and authors. This group of artist created an exhibition that travelled throughout the Czech Republic and was exhibited in the Vitra Design Museum in

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2772-402: The abstract geometries of the numbered paintings of Franz Kline , in their unadorned masses. The UFA Cinema Center also would make a likely setting for the angular figures depicted in urban German street scenes by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner . The work of Wassily Kandinsky also bears similarities to deconstructivist architecture. His movement into abstract expressionism and away from figurative work,

2838-523: The birth of its subject. Radical Design is an art exhibition that was shown in the museum in the 1960s and 70s. This exhibition was not shown in the main building, but in one of the storage buildings that also shows work of the museum. The architects of this storage unit, Schaudepot, was Herzog & de Meuron. The storage unit opened in June of 2016 and the Radical Design was the first exhibition. This exhibition shows work from Italian artists that were going against

2904-423: The building to feel alive. He was the architect for many museums and concert halls because he liked the relationship that the music and the art had to the people in the space. Gehry created museums that where warehouses with no windows making the skin the main aspect of the building which forces the architecture to play with the nature around it. The museum's collection, focusing on furniture and interior design ,

2970-608: The company introduced the Panton Chair by Verner Panton , the first cantilever chair out of plastic. In 1977, Rolf Fehlbaum took over the management of Vitra. In 1984, the partnership that had been formed with Herman Miller was terminated by mutual consent. Subsequently, Vitra obtained the rights to designs by Charles and Ray Eames and George Nelson for Europe and the Middle East. Vitra's product line consists of designer furniture for use in offices, homes and public areas. In 2002,

3036-505: The company took in the realm of domestic living. Launched in 2004, the Home Collection includes classic furniture design pieces by Charles and Ray Eames , George Nelson , Verner Panton , Alexander Girard and Jean Prouvé , as well as the works of designers such as Antonio Citterio , Jasper Morrison , Alberto Meda , Maarten van Severen , Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec , Hella Jongerius and BarberOsgerby . A major fire destroyed

3102-425: The conventions of design. The difference between criticality in deconstructivism and criticality in critical regionalism is that critical regionalism reduces the overall level of complexity involved and maintains a clearer analysis while attempting to reconcile modernist architecture with local differences. In effect, this leads to a modernist "vernacular". Critical regionalism displays a lack of self-criticism and

3168-520: The formal experimentation and geometric imbalances of Russian constructivism . There are additional references in deconstructivism to 20th-century movements: the modernism / postmodernism interplay, expressionism , cubism , minimalism and contemporary art . Deconstructivism attempts to move away from the supposedly constricting 'rules' of modernism such as " form follows function ", " purity of form ", and " truth to materials ". The main channel from deconstructivist philosophy to architectural theory

3234-411: The functional aspects of modernist simplicity while taking modernism, particularly the international style, of which its white stucco skin is reminiscent, as a starting point. Another example of the deconstructivist reading of Complexity and Contradiction is Peter Eisenman 's Wexner Center for the Arts . The Wexner Center takes the archetypal form of the castle , which it then imbues with complexity in

3300-546: The gardens of Japanese monasteries. In the year 2000, the Campus was augmented with the addition of the Dome: a lightweight geodesic structure after Richard Buckminster Fuller , which was developed by T.C. Howard at Charter Industries in 1975 and transplanted from its original location in Detroit, USA, to Weil am Rhein. It is currently used as a space for events. In 2003, a petrol station by

3366-406: The general impression on the visitor as “... a continuous changing swirl of white forms on the exterior, each seemingly without apparent relationship to the other, with its interiors a dynamically powerful interplay, in turn directly expressive of the exterior convolutions. As a totality it resolves itself into an entwined coherent display...” The building backs the factory fence and is embedded in

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3432-431: The graphic sense of geometric forms of deconstructivist architects such as Zaha Hadid and Coop Himmelb(l)au . Both Deconstructivism and Constructivism have been concerned with the tectonics of making an abstract assemblage. Both were concerned with the radical simplicity of geometric forms as the primary artistic content, expressed in graphics, sculpture and architecture. The Constructivist tendency toward purism , though,

3498-452: The hidden potential of modernism. Computer-aided design is now an essential tool in most aspects of contemporary architecture, but the particular nature of deconstructivism makes the use of computers especially pertinent. Three-dimensional modelling and animation (virtual and physical) assists in the conception of very complicated spaces, while the ability to link computer models to manufacturing jigs (CAM— computer-aided manufacturing ) allows

3564-512: The late 1900s which reintroduced the culture to Europe. The museum building, an architectural attraction in its own right, was Frank O. Gehry 's first building in Europe, realised in cooperation with the Lörrach architect Günter Pfeifer . Together with the museum, which was originally just designed to house Rolf Fehlbaum's private collection, Gehry also built a more functional-looking production hall and

3630-459: The mass production of subtly different modular elements to be achieved at affordable costs. Also, Gehry is noted for producing many physical models as well as computer models as part of his design process. Though the computer has made the designing of complex shapes much easier, not everything that looks odd is "deconstructivist". Since the publication of Kenneth Frampton 's Modern Architecture: A Critical History (first edition 1980) there has been

3696-451: The private collection of Rolf Fehlbaum, are now permanently on display at the newly completed Schaudepot building on the Vitra premises. In addition, the museum puts on temporary exhibitions in the main building, often with loans from other collections. In turn, parts of the collection are lent to other institutions around the world. In addition, the museum produces workshops, publications and museum products, as well as maintaining an archive,

3762-460: The public, a museum was established as an independent foundation dedicated to the research and popularization of design and architecture. The Vitra Design Museum from 1989 by Frank Gehry was the first public building on the campus as well as the architect's first building in Europe. The Vitra fire station by Zaha Hadid was the first completed building by the Iraqi architect. The building consists of

3828-531: The term has stuck and has come to embrace a general trend within Contemporary architecture . Early antecedents of the architectural movement could be found in industrial design , notably in Ettore Sottsass ' design for the 1969 Olivetti Valentine typewriter, a non-conformist design that deconstructed what was typically the typewriter's bodywork, revealing elements normally concealed, using 'floating keys' and

3894-952: The theme of stacked volumes. In June 2014, the Vitra Slide Tower was inaugurated. In 2013, the company acquired the furniture brand Artek. Vitra's products have received numerous design-related awards by international organizations. Vitra products have been used in numerous high-profile settings, including the plenary chamber of the German Bundestag , the Tate Modern in London , the Centre Pompidou in Paris , Deutsche Bank headquarters in Frankfurt , Novartis in Basel , Dubai International Airport or

3960-440: The times of consumerism and mass production. Because of their beliefs there were very few building contracts so these groups were formed to create work that was absurd, provocative, fantastical, and contradictory. Seven of these projects were shown in the museums storage unit. This additional building is large so it can exhibit some of their larger pieces. The artwork is shown in the long hallways that are sectioned off. The work for

4026-439: The various architects whose work was usually more noted for their differences. The projects in this exhibition mark a different sensibility, one in which the dream of pure form has been disturbed. It is the ability to disturb our thinking about form that makes these projects deconstructive. The show examines an episode, a point of intersection between several architects where each constructs an unsettling building by exploiting

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4092-563: The works of many furniture designers . Vitra is also known for the works of notable architects that make up its premises in Weil am Rhein , Germany, in particular the Vitra Design Museum . Vitra was founded by Willi and Erika Fehlbaum in 1950. The couple visited New York City in 1953 and discovered the furniture designs of Charles and Ray Eames and George Nelson . Fehlbaum negotiated with Herman Miller to produce these designs in Europe and began manufacturing in 1957. In 1967,

4158-400: Was also constructed on the Vitra grounds. It was Ando's first work outside Japan. The calm and restrained structure encompasses an assortment of conference rooms. It is characterized by a highly ordered spatial articulation with a large part of its volume concealed below grade. A striking feature is the footpath leading to the pavilion, which has a significant association with meditation paths in

4224-446: Was based off of the art movement of deconstructivism and deconstructive architecture. This movement moves away from rational architecture and unity, harmony, and continuity. These architectural designs were geometric without being rectilinear but rather distorted and displaced. Instead it follows the golden rectangle which is a proportional system that allows the work to function proportionally. Architecture critic Paul Heyer described

4290-521: Was through the philosopher Jacques Derrida 's influence with Peter Eisenman . Eisenman drew some philosophical bases from the literary movement Deconstruction , and collaborated directly with Derrida on projects including an entry for the Parc de la Villette competition, documented in Chora l Works . Both Derrida and Eisenman, as well as Daniel Libeskind were concerned with the " metaphysics of presence ", and this

4356-561: Was to deconstructivists what ornament was to postmodernists, the subject of complication, and this complication of geometry was in turn, applied to the functional, structural, and spatial aspects of deconstructivist buildings. One example of deconstructivist complexity is Frank Gehry 's Vitra Design Museum in Weil-am-Rhein, which takes the typical unadorned white cube of modernist art galleries and deconstructs it, using geometries reminiscent of cubism and abstract expressionism. This subverts

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