Frank Gehry

Dancing house in Prauge

Frank Gehry is an award winning architect that resides in Los Angeles, his buildings and his home have become tourist attractions and he has been described as 'the most important architect of our age. Some of his best work are the Guggenheim museum in Spain and the Disney concert hall in down town Los Angeles. His style is described as 'Deconstrutivism' which generally goes against structural definition, meaning the do not represent anything and therefore do not follow function. 'Gehry’s style at times seems unfinished or even crude, but his work is consistent with the California "funk" art movement in the 1960s and early 1970s, which featured the use of inexpensive found objects and non-traditional media such as clay to make serious art'  I think the materials he uses also have a big impact on the appearance and general opinion of his buildings. By using a range of materials to create his structures I think he creates a free space that allows the viewer to mentally add to his pieces and be inspired themselves. The way he diverts from the conventional modernist building by making his projects swerve and 'dance' makes them entirely individual.

Daniel Libeskind

The 'Crystals at city centre' is a very typical Daniel Libeskind architectural design. Upon immediate viewing of his work, you are in awe of the sheer scale of his pieces. The sections of the building are equally distinctive due to their shape; giant shards to imitate the rock it was named after. The location of this building is also paramount in relation to the name as the project sits in Las Vegas, Nevada which highlights the type of reaction Daniel wanted to acheive. The materials he uses also play a big part in the overall effect of the building, by using metal,steel, he can reflect the different shapes off each other, emphasizing the different areas and furthermore creating the impression of a crystal. His other works are also quite grand and large-scale.In south Korea his 'dancing towers' project is in keeping with his attention grabbing, individual style. It is evident throughout his work that these pieces are intended to be looked at, he intentionally focuses the attention of all that pass his creations.  The dancing towers are massive, and it is immediately clear where they get there names from,  being 265,000 sq meters, and 189 ft in elevation of pure concrete.


Dancing Towers, a project that is part of the new Yongsan International Business District YIBD development in Seoul, is a mixed used development that consists of three 41 story residential towers,( a total of 834 total residential units) with amenities, retail, parking and a connecting commercial podium base.

The design for the Dancing Towers is inspired by the traditional Korean Buddhist Dance known as Seung-Moo. The subtle rotation of the towers creates the illusion they are dancing, as inspired by the long sleeves of the Seung-Moo dancer’s traditional costumes, gracefully propelled by the dancer’s movements. The towers are engineered with a unique structure of a central concrete core and alternating cantilevered fin walls to support the floors that create column free buildings that allow the forms to ‘dance’ and twist while opening up panoramic views from the apartment interiors.While creating an interrelated composition, the location of the three towers in the site and each tower’s rotations are oriented to create maximum light and views toward the water, the YIBD project, the city of Seoul and the mountains beyond for the residents. 

http://daniel-libeskind.com/projects/dancing-towers

Zaha Hadid

The work of Zaha Hadid is all has a similar sense of 'motion'. Playing it safe by using a neutral palette of whites and creams, she makes a small space seem bigger. In her project 'Form in motion' She divides the space by using blocks of fragmented curving shapes on the walls which makes sections flow into each other comfortably also by contrasting the light white colour with interjections of harsh black shapes, different areas are highlighted particularly the floor which imitates/mocks the 3D look on the walls and gives various perspective points to the spectator. All of these effects then come together with the use of futuristic, geometrical furniture in the same monochrome style to almost blend/ avoid attracting attention away from the overall theme of the space. Zaha's furniture creations are also very 'motion' oriented, her 'Dune' themed table/chairs are an abstract representation of the sand dunes on a beach; which are constantly changing, this is keeping with her 'flowing' concept. The shapes she uses are very smooth and natural, and the imitation 'sand brown' colour is very true to form.

Viktor Timofeev

'X'

Viktor Timofeev's work is very representational of a 'fictional' world. By breaking up sections of a building, he can create boundaries that are almost surreal, such as his first fabricated sculptural project 'X'. He stated that he believed it was a mix between a model and a pavilion, there is no sense of inside or outside and no closure. It was created with a corton steel as an exterior and a stainless steel interior which reflects light creating the illusion of more space and surrounding the viewer with a mirrored panorama after them entering through diagonal interlocking 'teeth', giving a sense that's slightly menacing. In his paintings, there is an evident influence from 3D gaming. His previous works show wireframes, strong angular shapes and lightwashes; whereas his more recent works possess a stronger and more vibrant palette reflecting his eye for 'cyber- architecture'.