CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE

09AT5DCCOA

CONTENT COMPILED BY
AR. SAHANA. S
(ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, B.M.S.C.A.)
CHARLES MOORE - LIFE, WORKS AND DESIGN PHILOSOPHIES

“Followed neo-classism”
"Working within the existing context"
Eclectic range of historicist buildings, each of which represents a unique response to the context of its site and culture.
His building designs tend to be playful, full of drama and surprise, expressing cultural aspirations and translating architectural
patterns into something new and relevant to the present age.
He preferred the use of bold colors and unconventional materials.

The Moore House is a private dwelling designed by Charles Moore for himself. It was built in Orinda, California, in 1962.
"Its form is derived from primitive huts “.
This house brought Moore early acclaim because of its evocation of a Vernacular tradition and its unique expression of
interior space.
Physical Description
This small square residence is located on a round meadow in a grove of oaks.
Although a small dwelling, it makes up for this with a spatial/structural system that is complex for its few members and size.
The foundation is cast- in-situ concrete on a gravel bed.
The squares define specific spaces beneath them and support a steel truss that serves as a ridge beam for the hipped roof.
Sliding walls unlock to an open site .
Moore’s house was remodeled in 2006. Original structure now has two large wings to each side.
Architect Charles Moore

Location Orinda, California,US

Date 1962

Climate Mild temperatures

Context Rural

Style Neo-Vernacular

Building Type Small residence

Construction System Wood frame with concrete

foundation.
CHARLES MOORE - MOORE HOUSE, ORINDA, CALIFORNIA - 1962
CHARLES MOORE - MOORE HOUSE, ORINDA, CALIFORNIA - 1962
CHARLES MOORE - PIAZZA D’ITALIA, NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - 1978

Early history- Conception

It was originally conceived by several members of New Orleans; considerable Italian community.
A new symbolic focus - part gathering and part memorial - was needed by the Italian community.
Piazza d'Italia , a public place incorporated into a larger commercial complex.
Contemporary architectural remarks have iconized this Piazza as an example of Post-modern architecture, primarily for its
adaptation of historical architectural ornament.

Planning and design

Like much of Moore’s architecture, it is a combination of ancient architecture and modern design elements.
The facades are one side of the space and the whole is surrounded by a ring of trees.
The fountain is set on a ground of concentric circles in brick and masonry, and is composed of a raised contour relief of the
boot of Italy and a construction of several staggered, interconnected facades following the lines of the circles.
Each facade incorporates one of the five Classical Orders in various materials, including marble, stainless steel, artificial
lighting and water.
Charles Moore's use of all five Classical Orders make a very conscious reference to the past. The details, however, speak an
entirely different language from that of Vitruvius, or Roman public architecture in general.
The Tuscan columns, are fully covered in polished stainless steel and their moldings and curves have been abstracted to a
minimum of flat, conic and cylindrical shapes.

Architect Charles Moore

Location New Orleans, Louisiana

Date 1978

Climate Humid

Context Urban

Style Post-modernism

Building Type Public space

Construction System Combination of various materials such as

concrete, marble, steel, etc.
CHARLES MOORE - PIAZZA D’ITALIA, NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - 1978

The horizontal molding of several stainless steel capitals were made of rings of neon lights.
The Doric colonnade has no physical shafts, only cylindrical streams of translucent water.
While it has the rounded abacus, the shaft is only suggested by the sheet of water.
Some of the composite columns have angular, conventional stainless steel capitals.
In their flutes, florid carved fillets were replaced with geysers. These composite columns had the appropriate half-circle flutes
on the shaft, and fairly complete moldings at that top and bottom of the shaft.
Streams of water were placed everywhere: on the Doric architrave, the Ionic entablature, almost every pedestal, and the
ridges of the Italian peninsula. Even two roundels sporting masks of Charles Moore himself spit water from one of the wall.

Analysis and Inferences

Instead of being composed around one or two linear axes, the Piazza seems to engage visitors in winding paths through the
arcs of facades and waterworks facilitating the winding through the colonnades.
•These spaces of the Piazza communicate with the outer area but still have their own sense of place and charm. They also
have a particular public character more appropriate to the Piazza. While an engaging space in its own right, the Piazza d'Italia
operates within the realm of ancient Greco-Roman architecture.
CHARLES MOORE - PIAZZA D’ITALIA, NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - 1978
CHARLES MOORE - PIAZZA D’ITALIA, NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - 1978