Postmodern Architecture - Beginning in the 1960s, architects began to revolt against the Modernist principle of "form follows funtion." Rather than building structures which were an unpleasant sight to behold, why not build something that says something about the surrounding community, the people inside the building, and the history of architecture itself? Why not build something that is beautiful, fun, and even amusing? Here are some examples of postmodern landmarks.

 

Robert Venturi - his mother's house. A single-family home built in the early 60s. ®

I.M. Pei - Umbau des Louvre (1988-93). An addition to the famous French art museum. Some of you may see it's resemblance to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, also designed by Pei.

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Frank O. Gehry - Frederick R. Weisman Museum (1991 - 1993). I went to school here at the U of Minnesota ten years earlier. There used to be a parking lot here in front of where I used to live (Comstock Hall). Had I gone here 10 years later I'd be staring at this building from my ground-floor window every day. Don't know if I could have handled that . . . ®

Philip Johnson - the famous AT&T building in midtown Manhattan (1984). You can see the famous "Chippendale" top from the upper floors of the MoMA. Appropriate since he introduced his International Style there in 1932. Some people hate this building, some people love it.

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Michael Graves - the Public Service Building in Portland, Oregon. (1980-1982). That lady on the front with the trident is "Portlandia." I actually worked here in the late 1980s. ® and ¯