In the reading An Introduction to Architectural Theory one of quote that really stood out for me was when Charles Jencks did a follow up study called “What is Post-Modernism”. Being a strong advocate for the importance of postmodernism, he reiterated his earlier study by defining it as “double coding: the combination of Modem techniques with something else (usually traditional building) in order for architecture to communicate with the public and a concerned minority, usually other architects." By contrast, he defined modernism as the" universal, international stemming from the facts of new constructional means adequate to a new industrial society, and having as its goal the transformation of society both in its taste and social make-up .(Goodman 5)” This quote helped me because at first, this reading to me didn’t seem like it would help me much with our case study, because in the beginning of the reading it stated that the postmodern movement didn’t really gain favor till about the 1980’s. And since the Werner-Gilchrist house was constructed in 1908, I didn’t feel that the house would fall into the postmodern movement but as I kept reading the article I noticed it wasn’t just about postmodern, but also about critical regionalism. And from doing research at the time this house was constructed this type of architecture was very popular along the town in New Mexico that the rail road created along its path.
Even thought the postmodernism movement didn’t start till the 1980’s. I see the Werner- Gilchrist House an early example of postmodernism in New Mexico, the building form that typifies the explorations of Postmodernism is the traditional gable roof, in place of the iconic flat roof of modernism. With a gable roof it would allow the shedding water away from the center of the building, such a roof form always served a functional purpose in climates with rain and snow, and was a logical way to achieve larger spans with shorter structural members, like this house did. The house embodied the distinctive characteristics of a type and method of construction, being a single-family, it was built during post-railroad, the house uses a Hipped Box styling with lumber-framed, hipped roof and milled wood doors, windows, and trims inside and out.
In the reading An Introduction to Architectural Theory Goodman writes about “
Even thought the postmodernism movement didn’t start till the 1980’s. I see the Werner- Gilchrist House an early example of postmodernism in New Mexico, the building form that typifies the explorations of Postmodernism is the traditional gable roof, in place of the iconic flat roof of modernism. With a gable roof it would allow the shedding water away from the center of the building, such a roof form always served a functional purpose in climates with rain and snow, and was a logical way to achieve larger spans with shorter structural members, like this house did. The house embodied the distinctive characteristics of a type and method of construction, being a single-family, it was built during post-railroad, the house uses a Hipped Box styling with lumber-framed, hipped roof and milled wood doors, windows, and trims inside and out.
In the reading An Introduction to Architectural Theory Goodman writes about “
Critical regionalism, in his view, accomplished these objectives through the menu of place and form, topography, context, climate, light, and tectonic form.”(Goodman) I think this house is a good example because this house was built with materials that were on the land or within the area. The adobe walls, the stacked stone foundation, and the lumber used to construct the house.
Another part in the reading that stood out was when it talked when Frampton wrote an essay in 1985 “he lamented the fact that few modern buildings (in contrast to almost any rural farmhouse) have any emotional appeal, a failing he attributed to the rationalist fixation on formalism in the previous few decades.” I see this to be very true almost every house that was built in rural New Mexico or even the U.S during early 1900’s, seemed to have a more of a functional look versus an emotional appeal to the building. And the reason I think this happened is because as the railroad came through towns they would just carry the same features over whether it was because it was it was efficient or just what they knew what worked, versus incorporating different building methods. I can remember going to visit my grandparents in Las Vegas New Mexico another town that used to be a big stop for the railroad there used to be a set of houses that had some of the same characteristic as the Werner- Gilchrist House.
The Werner- Gilchrist House represents a very early stage of postmodern architecture in the way it was constructed. And because the postmodernism movement didn’t happen till the 1980’s almost 72 year later the house was a early example of the movement. Because this house was the first house on the eastward expansion and suburban development of the City of Albuquerque, and it also portrays the environment of a group of people in an early era of New Mexico’s history, and how it shaped the community.
Another part in the reading that stood out was when it talked when Frampton wrote an essay in 1985 “he lamented the fact that few modern buildings (in contrast to almost any rural farmhouse) have any emotional appeal, a failing he attributed to the rationalist fixation on formalism in the previous few decades.” I see this to be very true almost every house that was built in rural New Mexico or even the U.S during early 1900’s, seemed to have a more of a functional look versus an emotional appeal to the building. And the reason I think this happened is because as the railroad came through towns they would just carry the same features over whether it was because it was it was efficient or just what they knew what worked, versus incorporating different building methods. I can remember going to visit my grandparents in Las Vegas New Mexico another town that used to be a big stop for the railroad there used to be a set of houses that had some of the same characteristic as the Werner- Gilchrist House.
The Werner- Gilchrist House represents a very early stage of postmodern architecture in the way it was constructed. And because the postmodernism movement didn’t happen till the 1980’s almost 72 year later the house was a early example of the movement. Because this house was the first house on the eastward expansion and suburban development of the City of Albuquerque, and it also portrays the environment of a group of people in an early era of New Mexico’s history, and how it shaped the community.
Bibliography
Goodman, David and
Goodman, David and
Mallgrave, Harry Francis
An introduction to Architectural Theory
1968 to the Present
An introduction to Architectural Theory
1968 to the Present
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