Academic mission, true feelings, more wonderful
.
Welcome to pay attention to architectural history
.
Welcome to write and exchange messages
.
Richard Meyer, a name you may not know very well
.
But abroad, he is a popular “fried chicken”
.
The godfather of “white school” of modernist architecture, the youngest winner of Oscar Pritzker Prize in architecture
.
All his works have become local landmarks
.
Even included in the list of historical sites by the United States, it has become a national protected cultural resource
.
Is he really that good? Now it’s time to get to know the architect who is popular abroad
.
In 1934, Richard Meyer was born in northeastern New Jersey of the United States to ordinary working-class parents
.
In the 20 years before entering the industry, Meyer’s life was flat and light
.
The only bright spot is that he was admitted to Cornell University, an Ivy League school in the United States, and gilded his resume
.
However, as a top student, Meyer did not choose to get a job immediately after graduation
.
Instead, he traveled in Europe and continued to study
.
An opportunity, he met the architect Corbusier, this “encounter” let Meyer benefit a lot
.
Corbusier’s Modernist theory has deeply influenced Meyer’s design concept
.
“White is the biggest feature in my works”, which is also an unavoidable topic in Meyer’s design
.
There are many people who design white buildings, but few people only design white buildings
.
Meyer is one of them
.
In 1970, Meyer and other modernist architects with similar ideas formed the “New York five” group
.
The nickname is “white pie.”
.
Most of their works are of modernist sculpture style, with smooth and pure white appearance
.
In particular, Meyer’s works are the most outstanding
.
Why does Meyer love white so much? “White is the most wonderful color, including all the colors in nature, is an extensible color.” More than that, white is a way for Meyer to have a direct dialogue with architecture
.
The space, volume and other basic elements of the building can be seen in the pure white design
.
White is like rice paper in ink and wash painting, through which Meyer can freely display his talent
.
Words without foundation, works see true chapter
.
Smith can see the shadow of Corbusier even in his famous works of John Mayer
.
Accurate proportion, high living room, curved wall, outdoor stairs are all derived from Corbusier’s three-dimensional space theory
.
The significance of Smith house to Meyer is not only learning, but also the formation of its future style
.
Another secret is that the real Smith house is actually made of wood, not concrete, which Meyer seldom uses
.
Unlike most residential designs, Smith’s house has an entrance facade, a private space enclosed by closed white walls, with only a few dark windows scattered
.
On the contrary, the back facing the coast is an open public space composed of three glass facades
.
The floor to ceiling glass windows and transparent exterior walls of the three-story building are sparing no effort to “skim” the natural light
.
The light and shadow change in one day
.
Surrounded by dense forest and blue sea, Smith house is quiet and pure
.
Douglas house is a cultural resource on the list of historical sites in the United States
.
It was built in 1973
.
It is located on the steep slope of Lake Michigan, surrounded by dense coniferous forest
.
The slope extends down to the blue Lake Michigan
.
Under the environment protection of nature, the white building stands abruptly in the center, as if it is a dramatic dialogue with nature
.
The white of the building, the blue of the lake and the green of the trees complement each other and merge into one
.
Each floor of the house corresponds to the surface of the lake, the horizon and the water bank
.
Millennium church gives up the luxury and solemnity of the past church and adds the clean and free and easy of modernist architecture
.
On the ground surrounded by ordinary apartments, the Millennium church unexpectedly “made a good relationship.”
.
It does not appear exaggerated and abrupt, but also retains the loftiness and solemnity of the church
.
Millennium church is a combination of pure cube and sphere
.
Three spherical concrete arc walls ease the cold and indifference of the pure white cube
.
In the whole white tone, a beige wooden shutter wall adds a little “warmth” to the church
.
Sunlight poured from glass roofs and skylights, and the church was more distracted by the sunshine
.
7.8 billion “fire protection” building, Meyer’s most famous masterpiece, the landmark building of Los Angeles, Getty Center
.
The Getty Center, which is located on the top of the mountain, was founded in 1984
.
It took 14 years and cost US $1.3 billion (about 7.8 billion RMB)
.
The total construction area is 92000 square meters, equivalent to 12 football fields, covering the world’s richest private museum
.
It is the concentration of Meyer’s design concept
.
Needless to say, the appearance of pure white, a close look, this is simply a full score of “three-dimensional composition of the operation.”
.
The simple structure is played out by Meyer
.
Light and shadow linger among them, patching together a quiet and beautiful world
.
However, this grand complex has also faced the “test of life and death”
.
Last year, more than 600 acres of land near Getty Center were destroyed by a mountain fire in California
.
Surprisingly, it still stands intact
.
It’s all thanks to Mayer’s design
.
How did he do it? The first step is to select materials
.
High temperature resistance is the key
.
Reinforced concrete and protective steel are indispensable
.
The roof is also covered with sand and stone aggregates commonly used in water conservancy projects
.
Two words, fire prevention
.
Second, beauty
.
Unified use of a high degree of fire-resistant natural stone, tuff stone
.
From Tivoli, Rome
.
It’s split by hand
.
The rough surface can still see fossils of leaves and feathers
.
This is “hard material”
.
In terms of “soft materials”, drought resistant plants and fire-resistant oak trees are planted in the Central Park and surrounding areas
.
Material is for design, the second step is design
.
Indoor, double-layer design
.
In case of fire, the fire doors of the Museum Gallery will be closed and separated from other venues to prevent the internal fire from spreading
.
At the same time, the circulating air system starts, increases the air pressure to prevent the smoke and dust from entering, and extracts oxygen from the air to extinguish the flame
.
Outdoors, there are two fire buffer zones, a square constructed of tuff stone and a central garden covered with vegetation
.
There are 3.7 million liter water storage tanks connected underground
.
According to the ground conditions, the system will start the sprinkler at any time to put out the fire
.
In addition, Mayer also considered the earthquake resistant design
.
In case of earthquake, special display case and movable base can protect the collection from damage
.
From Smith house to Getty Center, the trend of architecture has changed for decades, but Meyer still insists on his own style
.
His works are just like textbooks
.
Whether it’s appearance design or functionalism, people can’t be picky
.
Just like white, Meyer’s design is simple and pure, but it can make people feel the beauty of architecture
.
Long press the figure below to identify the QR code
.
We also welcome to recommend this article to your family and friends
.