Global Modern Architecture

W2 Simple Case Studies

Building Name: Cheikh Anta Diop University Library

Type: Educational / Institutional

Architect: Unknown/  Emile Abdoulaye Diouf

Location: Dakar,  Senegal 

Date: 1957

Short Description:

Cheikh Anta Diop University was built as a part of the last-ditch effort of the French to make their mark in their colonies as the end of colonialism was on the horizon (Crinson). Originally started as a french medical school in 1918, the central administrative building became the library leading up to  the CADU’s official inauguration. The University is one of the top medical schools in western Africa.  The addition of the red cube and V-shaped roof came in 2001, under Emile Abdoulaye Diouf. The library is notable not only aesthetically for its recognizable varying blue panels, but also historically- the original architect is unknown and the intervention in what was originally a courtyard and staircase now holds Diouf’s bright red cube  and blue chevron roof addition. It is also of note that Diouf has no other built projects. 

Significance:

  • Incredibly interesting because for the prestige of the university, there is a significant lack of documentation on dates and uses and invested parties
  • The original building  constructed in the late 50’s is significantly behind the original colonial modernism time frame in other colonies: learning to be gained from this project is  the impacts of modernism echo long after it became popular in Europe and the states in the 20s and 30s. 

Images and drawings:

 

Sources:

.https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/cheikh-anta-diop-university-1957/

https://www.britannica.com/place/University-Cheikh-Anta-Diop 

Building Name: Museu Brasileiro de Escultura (MuBE) 

Type: Museum / Park

Architect: Paulo Mendes de Rocha

Location Sao Paulo, Brazil

Date 1995

Short Description:

MuBE is stunning mainly for its fundamentally different concept of a museum, turning what could have been the standard sterile labyrinthian cube into an open-air and free-flowing public space that happens to have significant works and providing a rare green space in the heart of the city of Sao Paulo. Rocha is a Pritzker prize winner and is easily one of his masterpieces. Rocha is also part of the Brazilian Brutalism movement, also consisting of Jaoquim Guedes and Lina Bo Bardi and works in long blocks of raw concrete. Strategic use of successive subterranean walkways and of water in reflecting pools and nurturing greenery for both exhibitions and public use heightens the contrast between the urban and the natural, the industrial and the handcrafted. 

Significance:

  • The importance of listening to the community one wants to build in is incredibly important- it sounds basic, but residents (albeit wealthy ones) lobbied to have what would have been a shopping mall instead be a public square. 
  • Spanning a 97 foot long and 37 foot across lintel as  a backdrop and to balance against the carved out sections of the park and for it to really work is an inspiring move both aesthetically and technically. 

Images and drawings:

Sources:

https://www.archdaily.com/444881/museu-brasileiro-de-escultura-mube-paulo-mendes-da-rocha

https://architectuul.com/architecture/brazilian-museum-of-sculpture

Building Name: Tara Group Housing

Type: Housing

Architect: Charles Correa

Location: New Delhi, India

Date 1978

Short Description:

Correa’s foray into design for the middle class of New Delhi, the Tara Group Housing project pushes and pulls the conventional idea of a suburb and turns it in on itself in Indian fashion: strong terraced overhangs for shelter and shade, sharp edges, and a central garden throughout. The front doors of all housing face one another and are accessible only from the central green alley, designed so that the fumes and noise from traffic would be behind the structures and largely muted. The project aligns itself along a path between two other suburbs, with the garden and the semi-subterranean (and largely shaded) providing respite from extreme temperatures and high-pressure city living. 

Significance:

  • TGH is significant for its heavy consideration of both its residents and neighboring suburbs, all while catering to a staggering 125 units and 375 people in one hectare without compromising space or quality of life. 
  • TGH offers the insight that lighting, ventilation, and nature paired with low-rise specs can all be present even in high density areas. 

Images and drawings:

Sources:      

https://www.ravindrabhan.com/tara

https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/tara-group-housing/249969258#2 

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