CHAPTER 15

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ARCHITECTURE
Philip Johnson and John Brugee, College of Architecture, University of
Houston, 1983-85.

This building is considered postmodern, because it celebrates many

different architectural styles. A structure resembling a Greek temple
rests on top. The main building resembles an Italian villa from the
Renaissance.
Claude-Nicolas Ledoux, House of Education, 1773-79.

This drawing represents a plan for a House of Education building

in France, which was never built. This drawing provided the
inspiration for the College of Architecture at the University of
Houston.
The atrium that sits
underneath the colonnade
on the roof provides a cool
space to escape the hot
Texas sun. It exemplifies
how architecture is largely
a product of its
environment. Buildings and
spaces are designed to
work with the surrounding
climate and terrain.
Topography and Technology

 Each example of architecture depends on two different

factors and their interrelation: topography and
technology.

 Topography is the distinct landscape characteristics of

the local site. For example, a building designed to work
well in the winters of Alaska must take a very different
topography into account than a building designed for
the South American Amazon.

 Technology refers to the materials and methods

available to a given culture. We have an expansive list
of choices for technology today, but this was not always
the case. Different types of structures become possible
with different technologies.