Modernism
brought about many new ideas in architecture.
New materials and technologies led to new ideas in structure, facades
and plan. The idea of an “open plan” was a uniquely modern concept only possible
because of new structural abilities. However, each modern architect had a different
idea of what “open” meant. While Le Corbusier is credited as the first, there
was lots of room for experimentation and interpretation. Louis Kahn and Mies
van der Rohe are two modernists who took the idea of the
open plan and made it their own. Kahn focused on the ease of transitioning
between spaces, while Mies created completely open rooms with no definition of
spaces.
These
different views can easily been seen in the university buildings each designed.
Kahn designed the Phillips Exeter Library
for the Exeter Academy in New Hampshire.
This library was designed in the shape of a basic square with a large
central chamber, stretching up the entire height of the building. There are
large circular openings in the concrete which allow views across the central opening.
This is, in Kahn interpretation, an open plan.
The entire inside is completely connected byt sight lines, but defined
by walls.
In
plan the building is also an open plan. There are no walls within the main
volume but the spaces are divided by each other. The spaces with book stack are
open to the reading chairs and the study tables but tucked back in alcoves. The
definition of the spaces comes from the layout of the plan not from walls
acting as barriers. There is openness in the connection of the rooms but division
in the overall layout.
Contrary
to this, Mies van der Rohe designed Crown Hall on the Illinois Institute of
technology Campus to have no interior walls. The open plan is achieved
literally by having no full height walls in the entire space. There are a few
short walls surrounding the staircase but the studio space is open from end to
end. His interpretation may seem more obvious, but is equally as innovative
because it had never been done before.
http://www.acsa100.org/images/CrownHallHB18506x4.jpg
The
Kimball Art Museum is another building designed in the open plan concept. Designed
by Kahn in Fort-Worth, Texas, the building is a one-of-a kind Museum. Lit only
by indirect ceiling fixtures, the walls have no need for windows. Light was
able to penetrate into the deepest parts of the building with ease because of
the sky lighting. The few walls become backdrops to the art and the
circulation. The plan is very open and allows for continuous movement. Changes
in ceiling height define spaces more than walls.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhwTiTE6KkjrG5RKfggQnbMwrbQXO9MRXQwsRDzdPqGx9c_7ToLBrvwWyv-9cpmQgEZbcTcU83xgcGOKjdqZrmbQeYZ1jsu190NDR3V4In83XhFPfxY7dFlBPnaJJhLqZZW-L6oiOjy2z/s400/IMG_6804.JPG
Mies designed a building similar in function; A pavilion for the 1929 world’s exposition in Spain. Here he designed almost more of a partially covered plaza than a building. The covered area is completely open on two sides to an exterior plaza and water feature. The covering is held up by columns, allowing for the free flow of circulation. The few walls are glass and run parallel to the plaza, maintain the open connection.
The
open plan is a modern concept created in the early 1900s. With all the new
technology and ability to build an open plan, several different styles were
created. Louis Kahn and Mies van der Rohe had very different degrees of openness
in their plans but each achieved the same goal. The influence of both these Men
can be seen in the open plans concepts of today’s society.
